I want to start making some Japanese onigiri (riceballs) - Any tips?

Answer 1

1/2 pound salmon fillet
4 cups uncooked, short-grain rice
5 3/4 cups water
2 sheets dried nori seaweed, or pretoasted nori sheets
2 large pickled plums, pits removed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried bonito flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds, toasted

Sprinkle the salmon fillet with salt and let stand for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, wash the rice thoroughly in cold water 30 to 60 minutes before cooking and let drain in colander. Place rice and water in a heavy, tightly covered saucepan over medium-high heat. When water just begins to boil, turn the heat to high and let it come to a vigorous boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice, about 12 to 13 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice stand, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes. Using a flat wooden spoon or rice paddle, fluff the rice with a cutting motion. Stretch a towel under the lid and cover tightly to keep warm until ready to use.

Toast the nori sheets over a high gas flame, and cut crosswise into 1-inch wide strips, or use pretoasted nori.

Mix the bonito flakes with the soy sauce. Rinse the salt off the salmon, pat dry, and grill for 3 to 5 minutes. Use a fork to break the salmon into small pieces.

Wet your hands with salted water to keep the rice from sticking to your hands. Cup one hand and place a handful of rice, about 1/2 cup, in your hand. Make an indentation in the rice and tuck in one of the fillings: a teaspoon of soaked bonito flakes, a few flakes of salmon, or a few pieces of pickled plum. Close the rice over the filling and mold it into a triangular shape. Mold the rice firmly, pressing just hard enough to hold it together. Set the rice triangle down on one of its sides and cover the top peak with a strip of nori, shiny side out, like a roof. You can also make cylindrical shapes and wrap the nori around the middle. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the rice shapes. These are great lunch treats

Answer 2

try to buy some onigiri molds sold in Asian supermarkets or online. There are so many cutesy shapes but its best to go with the triangle mold. Also if you haven't already purchse some furikake - seaweed seaoning for the rice.
If you don't want to use the molds you can always just mold it in a sandwich bag. My mom used to make it this way, she would put 3 -4 tbs. of seasoned rice placed it in the middle of the bag and twist both sides. Like wrapping a bon bon.

Answer 3

RICE BALLS

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, Parmesan cheese, basil or parsley (I prefer basil), pepper, and salt; cover and refrigerate.
Pour the chicken broth (or water and a teaspoon of salt) into a large saucepan and bring to a boil; stir in the rice and reduce the heat to low.
Cook the rice until liquid is almost absorbed, about 15 to 17 minutes.
Remove from heat and gradually pour in egg mixture, continually stirring rapidly to coat the surface of the rice and prevent the egg from scrambling; allow rice mixture to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Pour bread crumbs into a shallow dish.
Dampen your hands with water and create 1-inch balls from the rice mixture, then coat each one with bread crumbs.
In a small, deep skillet, heat enough oil to cover the rice balls to an adequate frying temperature (350 degrees F) so that a piece of rice from the mixture actively sizzles when dropped in; alternately, a deep fryer may be used.
Fry the rice balls 4 to 6 at a time, turning as needed to ensure even browning.
Drain on paper towels, then serve warm as is or with a bit of marinara sauce.
Another nice touch you can use with these is to put a small cube of mozzarella cheese in the middle of each rice ball!

ENJOY!

Answer 4

I have added two links which has pictures of how they make onigiri. My favorite "stuffing" is fried chicken or hijiki!

Answer 5

♡I L♡VE onigiri and have them often for lunch here in Japan...(*^o^*)
Yummy AND healthy too!(^_-)-☆
～Here's a link that has easy to make onigiri, take a look:
http://www.geocities.com/tpkamsin/fbonigiri/onigiri.html
Bookmark it, or print out...useful!
It's easy and has lots of great info like the calorie count, prep time and other useful tips for variations...GREAT!
Hope it's helpful!
Enjoy!♡

Answer 6

From mother with love. This is onigiri.

Answer 7

Most popular ingredient (stuffing) is a pickled plum, flaked salmon, seaweed, mentaiko but my favorite is mayonnaise tuna!! you can get all the ingredients at local Japanese markets.

Answer 8

you need to use a medium grained rice it extremely is starchy. one million cups rice to 2 cups water ratio. upload your jap rice wine vinegar whilst the cooked rice is warm so as that the flavors will replace into infused interior the rice. The seaweed can usually be discovered interior the asian sections of maximum grocery markets in case you do no longer choose for to flow out of your thank you to an extremely one. place the wasabi paste interior the piece of fish you're employing. you could't use canned fish. Use sparkling fish alongside with sea bass, tuna, and salmon. decrease it finely so as that each and every physique could have a flavor.

Answer 9

"Bento" or packed lunch, in Japan, is usually onigiri. Here are a few recipes to help you on your way. [By the way, I kinda like Hungarian ghoulash, too.] This one is the typical one you get at the Shinkazen [Bullet Train] Station.


Basic onigiri


medium grain rice (Korean or Japanese)
water
salt
sushi nori, 1 inch by 5 inch strips (seaweed laver) (optional)
Chinese five spice powder (optional)
umeboshi (Japanese Pickled Plums) (optional)
toasted sesame seeds (optional)
canned tuna or smoked salmon (optional)



1. Let rice cool to where you aren't burning your hands when you handle it.
2. Wash hands!
3. Rinse hands and leave wet, and rub palms with salt.
4. Take a handful of rice and ball with hands, using palm of left hand to form the base, and the palm and fingers of your right hand to form the two sides of a triangle.
5. Toss and rotate so that the side that was on your left palm is now rotated to one of the sides on your right hand.
6. Repeat until you have a nice triangle shape.
7. Repeat starting with rinsing hands and salting hands.
8. Wet hands do not stick to rice, which makes shaping the rice much easier.
9. The salt adds flavor and helps to sterilize any bacteria.
10. Consistency is key with the shapes and size, this will come with practice!
11. Now that you have a basic rice ball, you can flavor with any of the optional ingredients or a mix: Sushi Nori- Simply wrap a piece of sushi nori around the rice ball.
12. This is a very basic rice ball, and is seen in many boxed lunches.
13. Classic!
14. Chinese 5 Spice- I will often add a dash of 5 spice to the salt I'm using to add aroma and taste.
15. Don't over do it, 5 spice becomes bitter if used excessively!
16. Toasted Sesame Seeds- Sprinkle on top for aroma and taste.
17. Can also use prepackaged Japanese rice dressing, sold in glass bottles to be shaken over rice for flavor.
18. Ume-boshi or cooked fish- In one of the two flat sides of the onigiri, press a divot into it with a finger, and fill with the desired stuffing.
19. Leave open or cover with a strip of sushi nori- not the ume boshi though!
20. You don't want to choke on the seed if you didn't know it was there!



Now, try this one


Yaki Onigiri Shoyu-aji
( grilled rice balls with soy sauce)

Main Ingredients

2 cups white short-grain Japanese rice
1 teaspoon Umeboshi paste (salt-pickled Japanese plum)
1 tablespoon Bonito flakes
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 large bowl water
1 teaspoon salt
Soy sauce mix

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Mirin

Procedure

Cook steamed rice using a rice cooker or a conventional heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
We will make 6 medium size rice balls with 2 flavors, Umeboshi paste or Bonito flakes with soy sauce.
Moisten hands with salted water, have one-sixths of steamed rice in a palm, and then make it round using both palms.
Press rice ball in the center to make a deep depression. Place some Umeboshi paste in the depression. Cover it with some additional steamed rice.
Squeeze rice ball several times making it into a firm triangular shape.
Repeat the above three steps twice for making the next two rice balls with the same flavor.
Repeat the above four steps with another flavor, Bonito flakes with soy sauce.
Preheat toaster oven with 375 F, bring three rice balls. Grill them for 3 to 4 minutes or until the surface of both sides get dried and firm.
In a medium bowl, bring all ingredients for sauce. Mix well.
Take the rice balls out of toaster oven and bring them on a plate. Coat them with the prepared soy sauce using a cooking brush. Or dip the rice balls in sauce instead. Be alerted with heat.
Bring the rice balls back into toaster oven. Grill them for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the surface of both sides get dried and firm. Repeat the process for grilling the rest of rice balls.

To get a good result with shaping rice balls, use very hot steamed rice. Hot steamed rice creates sticky and almost glued-like surface around balls that helps shaping firm balls.


Yaki Onigiri Kurumi Miso-aji
( grilled rice balls with walnuts miso sauce)

Main Ingredients

2 cups white short-grain Japanese rice
1 teaspoon Umeboshi paste (salt-pickled Japanese plum)
1 tablespoon Bonito flakes
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 large bowl water
1 teaspoon salt
Walnuts miso sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons ground walnuts
2 tablespoons red Miso
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Mirin
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Procedure

Cook steamed rice using a rice cooker or a conventional heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight-fitting lid,
We will make 6 medium size rice balls with 2 flavors, Umeboshi paste or Bonito flakes with soy sauce.
Moisten hands with salted water, have one-sixths of steamed rice in a palm, and then make it round using both palms.
Press rice ball in the center to make a deep depression. Place some Umeboshi paste in the depression. Cover it with some additional steamed rice.
Squeeze rice ball several times making it into a firm triangular shape.
Repeat the above three steps twice for making the next two rice balls with the same flavor.
Repeat the above four steps with another flavor, Bonito flakes with soy sauce.
In a medium bowl, bring all ingredients for sauce. Mix well.
Preheat toaster oven with 375 F, bring three rice balls. Grill them for 3 to 4 minutes or until the surface of both sides get dried and firm.
Take the rice balls out of toaster oven and bring them on a plate. Coat them with the prepared walnuts miso sauce using a cooking brush. Or dip the rice balls in sauce instead. Be alerted with heat.
Bring the rice balls back into toaster oven. Grill them for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the surface of both sides get dried and firm. Repeat the same grilling steps with the rest of rice balls.


Bon Appetit.