Easy Onigiri Recipe (Japanese Rice Balls)
Simple, quick, and easy– how to make Japanese rice balls "onigiri". In Japanese, these are called shio (salt-flavored) onigiri.
Ingredients
Rice
- ¾ cup Japanese short-grain rice equal to one "rice cooker cup"
- 200 ml water ⅞ US cup
- ¼ teaspoon salt fine-grained sea salt or kosher salt
Wrap
- 1 sheet dried nori seaweed
Filling (optional, choose one):
- ½ can tuna, drained and mixed with 1 tablespoon Japanese mayonnaise
- 1 small salmon fillet salted, cooked, and flaked
- 3 umeboshi pitted
Instructions
Preparing Rice
- Transfer freshly cooked rice from your rice cooker or pot to a large bowl or glass baking dish.
- Using a spatula, gently spread out the rice to cover the bottom of your bowl.
- Sprinkle with salt (¼ tsp) and mix into rice by lightly tossing and folding over.
- Cool the rice until you no longer see clouds of steam and the rice has cooled just enough that you can hold it in your bare hands.
Shape Onigiri by Hand
- Fill a bowl with room temperature water and a small dish with salt. Keep these nearby to use as needed.
- Using your spatula, divide the cooked rice into three equal sections in your bowl or pan.
- Dip both of your (immaculately clean) hands into your bowl of water. Shake off the excess water.
- Lightly rub a small pinch of salt over your palms.
- Using your hands or spatula, scoop up enough rice to make one onigiri.
- Like making a snowball in two hands, gently form the rice into a sphere. Make it a ball shape but not too compact.
- If using a filling, press a dent in the center and add 1 to 2 teaspoons of filling (or one umeboshi). Use up to a tablespoon once you're comfortable sealing it in. Cover with a little more rice.
- Cup the rice in your non-dominant hand, letting your palm curve into a slight valley.
- Cover it with your dominant hand, fingers together, forming a peak like Mt. Fuji.
- Press gently to form one corner, then rotate the onigiri toward you so that corner points at you. Press again.
- Repeat until all three corners are even. Keep the pressure light so the inside stays fluffy.
Wrap Onigiri with Nori Seaweed
- Cut nori seaweed sheet into strips with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors. I prefer to cut strips ⅓ of a full-size sheet. Trim strips shorter so the nori will cover ⅔s of each side of onigiri.
- Hold the onigiri in one hand. Place the strip of nori under the bottom edge of the rice ball, shiny side out and rough side against the rice.
- Wrap the ends of the nori up along the sides, pressing gently to secure it in place.
- Stand the onigiri vertical on a plate.
- Serve onigiri warm for the best taste. Or, set them aside to let them cool to room temperature.
Notes
The best ratio for Japanese white rice to water is 1 to 1.1 (or 1.2).
If you want to make 3 larger onigiri, I recommend using 1 cup of uncooked rice with 260 ml of water.
I use a heat-resistant shallow glass bowl or Pyrex baking dish for the cooked rice. Glass is preferable to a metal one because glass does not retain heat. A wooden salad bowl that isn't seasoned (garlic, etc) is another good option.
You can dip your spatula in the bowl of water so the rice doesn't stick to it.
In Japan, cooks use an uchiwa hand-held fan to cool down freshly cooked rice. You can use something like a piece of cardboard or stack of papers to use as a fan.
Ideally, attach the nori strips right before serving to maintain the crispness of the nori.
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