Onigiri おにぎり

Love, love, love onigiri. I think it’s even easier than sushi and you can make it so many ways. I tend to just make it with tuna, but check out the notes at the bottom for other varieites.

Ingredients — for 12 medium onigiri

• 2 cups sushi rice (rinsed and drained until clear)

• 2 cups of water (or quantity recommended on rice bag)
  ~

• 2 cans of tuna, drained

• 4 tbsp kewpie (Japanese) mayonnaise

• 2 tsp of tamari or soy sauce
  ~

• 2 sheets of toasted nori

• 3+ tbsp gomashio (homemade or store bought)

Instructions

1. add rice and water to a pot (or rice cooker) and cover

2. bring to a boil and reduce heat.

3. simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until done

4. set aside to cool
   ~

5. prepare filling by combining tuna with kewpie mayo and soy sauce
   ~

6. if you are using a mold . . .
   fill the mold halfway
   create an indent
   put about 1/2 a tsp of your filling (for a small mold)
   cover with more rice
   press lid into place and squeeze gently
   remove the bottom
   set the newly formed onigiri onto a cutting board or plate
   (see note for other ways to form onigiri)

7. rip or cut strips of toasted nori and place on the bottom of the onigiri (see picture)

8. sprinkle with gomashio

Notes

Personally I love tuna mayo onigiri because I always have tuna, mayo and soy sauce around, but there are many other popular fillings like:

• salted salmon (shio sake)

• pickled plum (umeboshi)

• bonito flakes (okaka)

• tempura shrimp (tenmusu)

• grilled onigiri (yaki onigiri — pictured above)

• natto onigiri (fermented soy beans)

• spicy tofu

You don’t need a mold to form onigiri. You can easily form them in the palm of a damp hand.

1. put some rice in your hand and flatten it out

2. create an indent in the centre

3. add your filling and cover with rice

4. press the rice into a triangular form. If that fails, circular onigiri is perfectly acceptable!

We don’t use plastic wrap in our house, but some people have luck using that to mold the onigiri.