Onigiri: Make Japanese Rice Balls Yourself

Onigiri is delicious rice balls that you can easily make yourself. In this article, we will tell you what you need for a Japanese dish and the best way to prepare it.

Make onigiri yourself – you need that

For the delicious rice balls of Japanese cuisine you need the following ingredients and utensils:

• 500 grams of sushi rice
• 20 grams of furikake
• 10 pieces of nori seaweed sheets
• onigiri shaper. Alternatively, you can also shape the rice balls by hand. However, this takes some practice.

Prepare Japanese rice balls – Here’s how

When you have all the ingredients and utensils together, you can start preparing:

• First, wash the rice thoroughly. If the water becomes cloudy, change it. If the water remains (largely) clear, the rice has been washed sufficiently.
• Then cook the rice according to the packet instructions and let it cool down in the pot.
• Now mix the finished rice well with the furikake.
• Then take your onigiri shaper and briefly hold both sides underwater.
• Fill the large side of the former with rice.
• Now you can put the lid on the rice and press the two sides together.
• After that, take the lid off and remove the formed rice by pressing lightly against the outside of the large side or slowly tipping it out.
• Now cut the nori seaweed sheets into thin strips and then wrap them around half of the onigiri.

Make the filling for the rice balls yourself – Here’s how

As an alternative to the basic recipe, you can make stuffed onigiri.

• Various types of vegetables are particularly suitable for this. Cut them into small cubes.
• You can also mix the cubes with other ingredients such as miso paste or mayonnaise afterward.
• While filling the onigiri mold, place the vegetables in the center of the mold and then cover it with the rice.