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Jess - United States

Japanese Onigiri

Japanese Cuisine

Japanese Onigiri, also known as Omusubi, is a snack of Japanese rice formed into triangle or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori (edible seaweed). Traditionally, the onigiri is filled with pickled ume fruit (umeboshi), salted salmon, katsuobushi.

SPECIFICATIONS

• PREP TIME : 0 Min
• COOK TIME : 0 Min
• READY IN : 0 Min
• SERVINGS : 0

INGREDIENTS

• Short grain rice
• Nori
• Some filling (fish, umeboshi, other tsukemono, etc.)

PREPARATION

1. Cook your rice according to the directions on the package or the directions of your steamer. It doesn't matter if you make your rice in a pot. It's all cool
2. Dump the rice into a bowl and "cut" the rice to cool it. Like folding egg whites.
3. Now it's not a horrid lump! There are two ways to form your rice balls:
4. Pour some water in a bowl and salt it.. Dip your hands in this water to keep the rice from sticking to you.
5. Grab a 1/2 cup of rice and place your filling inside, or don't use filling. It's great both ways.
6. Form into a ball, log or triangle (the above picture is how to place your hands to make it a triangle, just in case).
7. Wrap a strip of nori around it.
8. Serve right away

NOTICE

Short grain rice (short grain contains the right amount of stickyness; use calrose rice if you can't find it )

If you want to want to eat your onigiri later, you might want to wait until just before your eat it to wrap the nori around it so the nori doesn't become soggy. Also, rather than placing your filling in the middle you can mix it into the rice (top left lul). Furikake is good this way. A nori wrapper can be optional, too. I don't like the taste of umeboshi and nori, so I omit the wrapper when using umeboshi (again, top left).

ANOTHER WAY:
This way is basically the same as the first way, but geared more towards those of you who love washing your hands. Whether it be with your will or against it. Take a regular sandwich baggy and place it inside a 1/2 cup measuring cup. put a bit of rice in the baggy to steam it up, then dump the rice out. Sprinkle the baggy with salt, and then fill with rice, using rice with something mixed in or adding a filling to the middle if desired. Take the baggy out of the cup and form the rice into a ball or triangle by squishing the baggy around. Remove from the baggy and wrap in a strip of nori.

For more information about this recipe visit: 

http://otakunoms.livejournal.com/2764.html#cutid1