Onigiri (also known as Omusubi or Nigirimeshi) are Japanese rice balls made of sushi rice that have been compressed into a triangular, or ball shape. They are usually wrapped in nori seaweed. Apart from the shape, the difference between Onigiri and Sushi is that the rice with Onigiri is not flavored with rice vinegar. This makes the Onigiri simpler and quicker to make! When you go to Japan you can find them in almost every convenience store, popular flavors are: grilled salmon flakes, tuna mayo, pickled plum and more!
Onigiri recipe:
In this recipe we will use the vegan tuna from Vegan zeastar! You could also change up the recipe with different fillings.
- The rice
First start with cooking some sushi rice. Its best to use a short or medium grain rice. Long grain rice isn’t sticky enough for the dish. The sushi rice is not usually not seasoned (you could season it with rice vinegar if you prefer) you could also add some furikake or mix your rice with pickled radish. - Filling
The filling is really easy to make. We only use 3 different ingredients: vegan tuna shreds, kewpie mayonnaise and sriracha. Mix these together and you filling is finished! You can also use normal tuna if you prefer. - How to make the onigiri
First put some sesame oil or water on your hand to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands. Now you take a portion of rice and put some filling in the middle. Then press the rice into a ball, after this make it into a triangle. - Nori
The nori on the Onigiri can be used in a few ways as well. You could wrap the whole Onigiri in nori or even leave the nori out of the dish. In this recipe we lay half a nori sheet horizontally, and cut the nori in 4 pieces wrap the nori on the bottom of the Onigiri.
