Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)

“Variations:(use plastic food wrap to help mold it, and to keep it off your hands.)fillings: *fuji`kko (preserved sea kelp? I don’t know what this is called in english) *bonito flakes (katsuobushi) mixed with soy sauce to make a paste-like filling other variations:*furikake (stuff you sprinkle on rice, like flavouring) various flavours… (furi – “shake” ka`ke -“ontop”)I use this for when I make rice, and I want to have a healthy and fast snack in class (I’m a university student). I usually make a batch of rice, and then make 4 or 5 of these, using a new piece of plastic wrap each time. The piece used for each becomes the wrapping for the o`ni`gi`ri, so you can just make it and toss it (not literally…) in your bag. (^_^) “

“It is ESSENTIAL that you use the right rice here people or this won’t work. Real sushi rice has a high starch content which makes it sticky. Really, really sticky! Sho-Chiku-Bai premium sweet rice made by Koda Farms is a great one to use. If you are lucky enough have an Asian grocer nearby you can find it there. If not it can be purchased online.”

“My favorite comfort food!!! Makironi’s suggestions were very helpful– thank you!I like the bonito flakes and furikake suggestions, and using plastic wrap to mold the rolls is great.I am still practicing making the triangle shape, but the taste is always sensational.Yum!”

“I used a filling of avocado, wasabi, soy sauce and mayo which was great. I couldn’t get mine to stick together in one piece, though, and I tried another batch with sticky sushi-like rice which was even less cooperative. Will have to practice!”

“This is a basic recipe, but there are 2 extra things you can do: in the chinese/korean markets, you can buy the onigiri molds. They are plastic molds that make it easier to make the onigiri. I use them and it saves a lot of time. Also, they come out in perfect shapes and the rice doesn’t stick to the plastic. Another thing is you can add different things to the rice to vary the flavor, like sesame seeds or sprinkle some bonito seasoning on them.”

“i kinda would like to know if you could of had substitute ingredants for just meat. like the umeboshi and the nori. would you be able to use meat instead of those.”

“This is a fun recipe, very easy to make. My onigiri balls fell apart until I put them in the refridgerator. We used wax paper to shape them, since the rice kept sticking to the plastic wrap and to our fingers. We couldn’t figure out how big to make them, haha – and we used chicken. 🙂 it was gooood”

“Very tasty! My favorite onigiri has bonito or ebi in it, sweet tamogo (diced finely), sliced negi and just a pinch of wasabi.The saran-wrap meathod works really well. I’ve seen my host mom shape the onegiri in her hands, add the necessary ingredients, then wrap them in saran-wrap and push each flat side against the table to ‘sharpen’ the corners. When she unwraps them they always look great!”

“this is such an awesome recipe i make it once or four times a week!!!!!”

“Awsome recipe! I used chopped dried apricots and cherries with honey and ginger instead of plum which worked VERY well. The art students in my dorm ended up eating them so quickly I made two batches of mini onigiri that night.I’ve also used crabmeat and cream cheese (that time did not go so well as the only rice I had was long grain… it ended up as rice ball bowls)”

“I love these! I make them often and this is the main method I use. I bought some small baby food containers that hold about 45 ml I find them great for moulding rice balls to make”bite size” ones. My favourite additions are dried spring onion (negi) chopped fried mushrooms with kewpie mayo and chopped tofu pockets (kind of inside out sushi!)”

“My kids loved this! They look exactly like the ones in the anime movies they see. I will try this next time with sweet rice I bought from an Asian grocery I found. Thanks for the recipe!”

“This is one of my favorite snacks. Usually, I like using a little shrimp flavored furukake. The sweet flavor goes well with the plum. Also, I wait for the rice to cool a little more, so that the seaweed doesn’t lose too much of it’s crisp texture. “