Onigiri
Freshly cooked rice pressed by hand into a triangle or ball around a salty filling, and often wrapped in nori.
What makes it onigiri
- Short-grain rice, freshly cooked and still warm when shaped.
- Salted hands, pressing firmly enough to hold but not to crush.
- A salty centre — umeboshi, salted salmon, kombu or okaka.
Where it comes from
Rice pressed into balls to carry has been eaten in Japan for centuries — food for travellers, soldiers and people working in the fields.
Now they're sold in every convenience store, in wrappers folded so the nori stays crisp until you open them. But the ones made at home, with warm rice and wet, salted palms, are the ones people miss.
How it varies
- Yaki onigiri
- Grilled and brushed with soy until crusted.
- Tenmusu
- With a small prawn tempura inside, from Nagoya.
Be the first here
Start your own onigiriNo one here has made onigiri yet. Start it as v1, and every version after is an experiment the next cook can learn from.
Near it
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