What do rice balls taste like

Read on to witness their majesty. I do not exaggerate when I say: I do it for the rice balls. Onigiri, or Japanese rice balls, are rice triangles wrapped in seaweed with usually savory fillings, often eaten as a fast meal or portable snack in Japan. You can get them anywhere you look, from packaged at convenience stores to handmade at grocery stores and even specialty mom-and-pop onigiri shops.

Onigiri rice balls, also called omusubi depending on region, are wildly customizable. Some are circular instead of triangular, some have no seaweed, and some have zany flavors like Korean barbecued beef kalbi or Japanese curry from the famous Coco Ichibanya chain. People in Japan have likely been taking their rice in ball form since ancient times. But the glorious reign of onigiri as we know them began in the Edo Period , when people started wrapping them in seaweed, or nori , to avoid sticky fingers on the go.

Japanese rice ball fillings have since come to include a variety of flavors, from traditional pickled plum to creamy seafood to tiny fish babies er, cod roe. Happily for us modern folk, onigiri are now sold at Japanese convenience stores everywhere for only to yen. But you can also make them yourself pretty easily —and remember, as far as fillings go, anything you can stuff into a handful of rice is fair game. Always delicious, the creamy Japanese mayonnaise thicker and richer than Western mayo complements the tuna shreds in a way that is dangerously addictive.

I rolled them in black and white seseme seeds and put dried seaweed on others. The teens at the school loved them. I found great directions in the internet for rolling and twisting them in wet salted plastic wrap which took all the air out and made them nice and firm.

A good friend of mine that I met through anime conventions years ago was having a graduation party, and I knew a bunch of the anime crew would be there, so I thought I would make something fun as a snack! I came across this recipe after watching Fruits Basket with a friend and we decided it would be perfect.

Made the first few rice balls using the recipe as-is, though we couldn't find bonito flakes, so we used some tuna salad, chicken salad and avocado instead. After making some of the plain rice ones, we elyssa's advice and added some rice vinegar, sugar and salt to the rice.

The smell kind of scared us at first, but after tasting them, we were glad we did it! Both versions of the recipe get five stars from everyone at the party! Peggi CA. I am not a fan of bonito flakes but this is a great picnic food and you can put anything inside. In Japan they used tuna salad salmon or pickled plum like they do in Japan Yum! I have been making these for a while now ever since working with a Japanese fellow who's wife made these for his lunch.

I became intrigued and asked him what they were and he explained and I had to try them so I went home and searched online for instructions. The only thing I do differently is use a different filling. I prefer Avocado or tuna salad in mine most of the time. Salmon is good as mentioned though as well. These are very cheap lunches and are the Japanese equivalent of a Sandwich culturally from what I understand. Very tasty!

I always have a few in my fridge for a quick snack also. I made this a few days ago while looking around the site. I finally decided I had to join so I can keep hold of this recipe. I don't care for bonito so I used a spoonful of home made chicken salad. It was fantastic. And by following your recipe the rice turned out perfect which is a new thing for me! The most common onigiri wrapper is a thin sheet of nori dried seaweed , but other possible ingredients include takana mustard greens, ooba leaf, tororo kombu kelp, salted lettuce, and so on.

Furikake is a salty Japanese seasoning made with a blend of ingredients that taste good on rice. Common furikake blends include nori seaweed and egg, ume pickled plum , shiso, shrimp, and dried fish. Yaki-onigiri is a type of rice ball cooked over an open flame on a wire grill until the exterior becomes crispy, then coated in sauce. The sauce varies from soy sauce glazes to savory miso butter.

While basic onigiri is made with plain white Japanese rice, for a healthier twist many people opt for brown rice or rice mixed with other grains, such as barley. Onigirazu was actually featured in a well-known cooking manga over 25 years ago, but has taken off in the past couple of years due to its ease of preparation and attractive appearance. Rather than taking the time to mold the onigiri into a ball, you only need to fold the nori over the rice and cut the onigirazu in half like a sandwich, which reveals its colorful fillings in an appetizing way.

With the nori wrap or strip, people could now eat the rice balls without getting their fingers sticky from the white rice. Onigiri has several other names, including nigirimeshi and omusubi, based on their regional influences and different shapes. Despite a few variations, onigiri became the most commonly-used name for the dish not only in Japan but in many other parts of the world.

Although we usually think of triangular shape with a nori strip outside when talking about the Japanese rice balls, onigiri may come in various other forms too. Here are seven interesting types of onigiri. A common myth about the dish is that there has to be a filling inside, but this is not necessarily the case.

A plain and slightly salted ball of steamed rice is also known as onigiri. It may have no fillings or wrap on the outside. This variety tastes best when you use the finest quality shinmai first crop rice to savour the pure flavours. A tip for onigiri beginners: if you wish to make the dish at home, make sure you use short-grain rice as it has a sticky texture.

Medium grain rice may also work to some extent but long-grain varieties are a complete no-no as they will not stick together to form that unique and satisfying onirigi shape. Also, ask for the new or first crop of the harvest season or shinmai variety at the grocery store. This is the most common type of rice balls you find at the restaurants and also see in the bento boxes. It contains some form of salty filling inside a plain ball of steamed rice, which may be fully or partly covered with nori.

Some people who like to enjoy crisp nori over the rice balls prefer to carry the strips of seaweed separately and put them around only before eating.