How to Make Delicious Japanese Rice Balls

Today, I'll show you how to make onigiri, Japanese rice balls. Konnichiwa, I'm Nami from Just one cookbook. These rice balls are filled with a variety of ingredients and they make a fantastic snack and a fun alternative to sandwiches for lunch. I'll show you how to make these onigiri using common fillings in Japan, but feel free to be creative. Before we start, don't forget to subscribe and make sure to click the bell icon for new updates. Now let's get started. To start, cook three rice cooker cups of Japanese short grain rice in a rice cooker or on the stove top. If you want to learn how to cook rice on the stove top, click the top right corner or find the link in the description box below. Once the rice is done cooking, fluff the rice and keep it covered. Break the cooked salmon into flakes and set aside. You can use any leftover salmon you have. Here, I have the Japanese salted salmon broiled in the oven. To learn how to make it, click the top right corner or find the link in the description box below. This is karashi mentaiko, spicy salted pollock roe or cod roe. Using a spoon, gently remove the eggs from the membrane. This is umeboshi, Japanese pickle plant. It's a classic onigiri filling. Remove and discard the seed from umeboshi and keep the flesh. For tuna mayo, combine canned tuna with the Japanese mayonnaise and a drizzle of soy sauce. This is okaka, dry bonito flakes mixed with soy sauce. First, let's make onigiri with your hands. Wet both palms with water to prevent the rice from sticking to them. Then, dip two to three fingers in salt and spread it on both palms. Scoop a handful of warm rice onto your left or non-dominant hand. Add a small amount of filling in the center of the rice. Scoop some more rice to cover the filling completely. Mold the rice with your hands and gently press the rice around the filling to form the rice into a triangle shape. I'll show you another method to make onigiri. Place plastic wrap in a rice bowl and sprinkle some salt. Put the rice and other filling. If you don't want to touch the rice with your bare hands or when you're packing onigiri for lunchbox, you might prefer this method. Then, scoop some more rice to cover your filling completely. Gather the corners of the plastic wrap and form the rice into a triangle shape. Finally, the easiest method. Soak the onigiri mold in water and sprinkle some salt. Fill the mold halfway with the rice and make sure the rice is filled to the corners. Add the filling to the center. Fill the rest of the mold with more rice all the way to the edges. Cover with a lid and push down firmly. You should feel a slight resistance to it. If not, add a bit more rice. Remove the lid, flip the mold over and push the button to release your onigiri onto a baking sheet lined with a parchment paper. When you finish making onigiri, you can coat the sides with the furikake rice seasoning. Typically, onigiri is wrapped with nori sheet. This step is optional, but I always like to toast both sides of nori sheet over an open flame one by one. Then, cut them into thirds parallel to the lines on the nori sheet. You can purchase furikake nori sheets for onigiri at Japanese grocery stores. Place the onigiri in the center of nori sheet and wrap it around. Or, you can simply wrap this way. If you want to keep the nori crispy until ready to eat, here's how you can wrap the onigiri. When you're ready to eat, unwrap and enjoy. Itadakimasu! I hope you enjoy this recipe and check out more of my videos here. Thank you for watching and see you in the next video. Matane!