Onigiri (Salmon, Umeboshi and Okaka Rice Balls)
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 日本各地
Servings: 6個分（2〜3人分）
Onigiri are Japan's portable food: rice shaped by salted hands, often wrapped around a filling or with a strip of nori. Depending on the region or household they are also called omusubi. The custom of shaping rice by hand is very old: lumps of carbonized rice resembling onigiri have been found at Yayoi-period sites.
Ingredients
- Freshly cooked rice 480 g (80 g per ball)
- Salt (for your hands) just under 1 tsp
- Lightly salted salmon (mild) 1 fillet
- Umeboshi (pickled plums) 2
- Katsuobushi (bonito flakes) 5 g
- Soy sauce 1 tsp
- Toasted nori (full sheets) 2
Steps
- [Fillings] Grill the salted salmon on both sides until nicely browned, remove the skin and bones, and flake it coarsely. Pit the umeboshi and lightly chop the flesh. Toss the bonito flakes with the soy sauce to make okaka.
- Cut each nori sheet into 3 strips (6 strips in total).
- When the rice is done, fluff it gently, divide it into six 80 g portions in bowls, and let a little of the steam escape. If it is too hot you cannot shape it; if it is too cool it will not hold together.
- Wet your hands with water, take a pinch of salt on your fingertips and spread it over both palms (hand water and hand salt).
- Place one portion of rice in your hand, make a shallow dip in the center, add one third of a filling, and cover it with the rice so it is fully enclosed.
- Cup one hand into a peak to form a corner and support the sides and bottom with the other hand; gently turn and press 3 to 4 times to shape a triangle. Do not pack it hard: aim for a firm outside and a fluffy inside.
- Wrap with nori just before eating. If you are taking them with you, let them cool slightly before wrapping with nori and plastic wrap.
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Notes
For the salt on your hands, a pinch on your fingertips (about 0.5 g) is a good guide. Use a little more for mild salmon and less for umeboshi.
If you like crisp nori, wrap just before eating; if you prefer it soft, wrap right after shaping.
Other classic fillings include tuna mayo, simmered kombu tsukudani, mentaiko and tarako. Mixed-rice onigiri, with the filling stirred into the rice, are also recommended.
For bento, let everything, fillings included, cool completely before wrapping so they keep better. In summer, add an ice pack.
Origin and history
Onigiri are Japan's portable food: rice shaped by salted hands, often wrapped around a filling or with a strip of nori. Depending on the region or household they are also called omusubi.
The custom of shaping rice by hand is very old: lumps of carbonized rice resembling onigiri have been found at Yayoi-period sites. In the Heian period, steamed glutinous rice shaped by hand, called tonjiki, was served at court events. In the Sengoku (Warring States) period, rice balls became an indispensable ration for soldiers.
Today's style of wrapping them in nori spread in the Edo period, once nori cultivation began and ordinary people could buy it. Now onigiri are a year-round staple at convenience stores, and the variety of fillings grows every year.