Onigiri (2024)

FAQs

What is the filling in onigiri? ›

🍙6 Popular Onigiri Fillings

Japan's most popular Onigiri fillings are tuna, salmon, umeboshi, tarako, katsuobushi, and kombu. If you go to a Konbini (a Japanese convenience store such as Family Mart and Lawson), you can easily find them.

Also known as o-musubi or nigirimeshi, onigiri are Japanese rice ball snacks made from cooked or steamed sushi rice, furikake seasonings (and sometimes tasty hidden fillings), wrapped a nori seaweed wrapper.

There is no particular difference between the two, but there are various explanations as to why people call them “onigiri” or “omusubi.”

Even stored this way, your onigiri will taste best within 24 hours, as the rice will begin to dry out. While onigiri are classically served at room temperature, you can also serve them chilled, or slightly warmed in a microwave or toaster oven.

Tuna mayo onigiri — amusingly the “chicken of the sea” in Japanese — may in fact be the most popular of all onigiri flavors, not to mention one of the easiest to make.

Does an onigiri have to have a filling? No it doesn't! The most basic type of onigiri is a shio musubi (塩むすび）, a plain rice onigiri with salt on the outside.

The onigiri is stuffed with savoury fillings. The rice ball can be seared, rolled in sesame or finished with seaweed. I created three varieties of this recipe using U.S.-grown Jasmine Rice. The rice itself can be prepared plain, mixed with soy sauce or furikake.

Unlike sushi, which gets a large portion of its flavor from added vinegar, the rice in onigiri is just plain rice. The added flavor comes from salt, which you add during the shaping process, and from whatever filling you choose to use. Today, I'll be showing you how to make the most popular flavor – tuna mayo.

For onigiri that holds its shape well, it's important to use short-grain Japonica rice, such as “sushi” rice, a category that includes Calrose and Koshihikari rice and, as Sho notes, simply refers to varieties of rice preferred in Japan.

Nori (海苔) is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, usually made from species of the red algae genus Pyropia, including P. yezoensis and P. tenera. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is generally made into flat sheets and used to wrap rolls of sushi or onigiri (rice balls).

Why do onigiri fall apart? ›

If you are using long grain rice (such as jasmine rice), the onigiri will simply fall apart because they are not sticky enough.

Renowned for its portability and ease of eating on the go, onigiri has been a staple carry-along food in Japan for generations. Today, you can find it everywhere, from convenience stores to supermarkets across the country, showing just how popular it has become.

It is a good source of protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates . Onigiri can be prepared with various ingredients such as salmon or cod roe, which provide additional nutrients . Additionally, onigiri can be wrapped in a contaminant-proof sheet, allowing consumers to eat it without dirtying their hands .

Use freshly cooked rice.

Transfer the cooked rice to a large bowl, baking sheet, or sushi oke (hangiri). Let cool slightly. The rice should be warm when making onigiri.

At major convenience store chains, the onigiri are always stocked on refrigerated shelves. However, each chain also always has a number of varieties with packaging or signage saying that, for the best taste, you should warm them up in the microwave before eating.

Popular Fillings for Onigiri

Salted salmon (shiozake) Preserved plum (umeboshi) Bonito flakes (katsuoboshi) marinated in soy sauce. Mentaiko (cod roe), with or without mayonnaise.

The black strip covering the rice ball is edible seaweed (nori). Let's learn how to open a rice ball. After you read this, you have nothing to fear about convenience store onigiri!