Onigiri- pronounced “oh – ni- gir- i” is a Japanese rice ball. The Onigiri often has a surprise inside like tuna or salmon and is wrapped in seaweed. They are available for purchase at grocery stores and convenience stores. I discussed how they are packaged in my Japanese Supermarkets post last month.
Now that I have my own rice maker, I have been eager to try to make my own Onigiri. At a store in Yokosuka, I was able to find a triangle Onigiri shaper and packaging options.
Triangle onigiri mold
Onigiri “ball” wrapper
Onigiri triangle wrapper
Directions for wrapper
Using my new tools, rice maker and wrappers, I attempted to make homemade Onigiri. In the middle of each triangle, I used can tuna because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out and didn’t want to waste money on fresh tuna if this was a flop. The triangle wrappers worked the best. The other wrappers are for use when making a Onigiri ball vice triangle.
Onigiri form with rice
The top of the Onigiri form is used to make the indentation on the rice. This creates a narrow pocket where the filling is placed.
The two sides are put together to make a whole triangle. The Onigiri is then placed inside the bag. I didn’t wrap the rice in seaweed because it would get soggy. I am still on the hunt for Onigiri bags that have a divide for keeping the rice and the seaweed separate.
The final picture shows all the Onigiri wrapped and the seaweed package. Notice the two cute critters have opening directions. The third container is a silicon triangle. It might be my favorite. Although The bags are really cute, they are not reusable like the silicon.
Dave taste tested one last night and approved. I was worried by today the rice would be dry and crumbly. Nope. They were delicious! The best compliment was from the Japanese secretaries at Dave’s office. He sent me a text at lunch and said “they were impressed with my rice making skills.” Pretty good for amateur hour! I think I am ready to try some with sushi grade tuna and salmon! This will indeed make them better, but to truly be perfect, I need to master the seaweed wrap.
PS. For all my emoji loving friends, you now know the name of this emoji ?!