Yaki (or Grilled) Onigiri
What tasty Japanese snack can you make with the following ingredients? Check under the cut. :)
Finished Onigiri - grilled onigiri with a strip of nori to hold onto the rice patty
The nori wrap gets a bit soggy on sitting wrapped around the warm onigiri so you want to assemble them at the last minute
Plain or Yaki (Grilled) Onigiri aka Sushi Rice Patties - each cup of cooked rice makes 3 onigiri
1 cup freshly cooked sushi rice
1 cup cold water
2 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
1 sheet nori cut into 1" strips along the long end and then cut in half
wasabi (optional)
Variation 1 - Furikake Onigiri (formed into hockey puck shapes)
2 tsp furikake (prepared sushi rice seasoning)
Add furikake to sushi rice and cut into the rice using a moistened wooden paddle so as not to crush the grains of rice.
In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tsp of salt in 1 cup of cold water. Dip each hand in turn into the salted water and take about 1/3 of a cup of the sushi rice in your left hand. With your right hand form into a firmly packed ball and then shape into a hockey puck shaped patty.
Dip each hand into the salted water and repeat forming the onigiri until you've used up all your cooked sushi rice.
These patties are called onigiri. You can fold the strip of nori over one edge and use it as a handle to eat the rice patties. If you like wasabi, smear a little on the rough side of the nori strip before folding it over the patties and start snacking.
Making Yaki Onigiri (grilled rice patties)
Once you've formed all of the onigiri, in a medium hot non-stick pan (you can brush it with some vegetable oil if you wish), sear one side of the onigiri until colour has developed and it's golden brown (2-3 min), turn the patty over so you can sear the 2nd side and brush some soy sauce over the seared first side. Turn when the second side has developed colour, brush the 2nd side with soy sauce and sear the first soy brushed side an additional minute or so. Then, turn and sear the second side an additional minute or so.
You have now seared each side twice, once dry and once with the soy sauce brushed on it.
Use the strip of nori to hold on to your yaki onigiri while eating. Add some wasabi if desired.
Variation 2 - Tuna Salad Onigiri (formed into triangles for variety)
well drained can of tuna (enough for 8 onigiri)
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp mayonnaise
Mix the ingredients above and refrigerate until ready to form onigiri.
Dip each hand into the bowl of salted water and take 1/3 of a cup of the cooked rice into your left hand, forming a loose ball with your right hand. With your thumb form a pocket in the middle of the ball, spoon in a tsp of the tuna salad and close the ball around the filling. You may want to add a bit more rice to the ball to ensure that the filling is well covered.
Tuck the ball of rice into an L-shape formed by the index finger and thumb of your left hand and a reverse L-shape formed by the index finger and thumb of your right hand and from the rice ball into a triangle. Rotate and firm up the triangle so as to sharpen up the three corners of the onigiri.
If this is difficult to manage, simply form the onigiri into the round shape above.
Sear off as above.
Eat
I apologize for the poor instructions. As you can tell, my triangles weren't very well constructed and came apart when grilled. This seems to happen regardless of what I fill them with. The classic version has umeboshi (pickled ume fruits) inside.
Finished Onigiri - grilled onigiri with a strip of nori to hold onto the rice patty
The nori wrap gets a bit soggy on sitting wrapped around the warm onigiri so you want to assemble them at the last minute
Plain or Yaki (Grilled) Onigiri aka Sushi Rice Patties - each cup of cooked rice makes 3 onigiri
1 cup freshly cooked sushi rice
1 cup cold water
2 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
1 sheet nori cut into 1" strips along the long end and then cut in half
wasabi (optional)
Variation 1 - Furikake Onigiri (formed into hockey puck shapes)
2 tsp furikake (prepared sushi rice seasoning)
Add furikake to sushi rice and cut into the rice using a moistened wooden paddle so as not to crush the grains of rice.
In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tsp of salt in 1 cup of cold water. Dip each hand in turn into the salted water and take about 1/3 of a cup of the sushi rice in your left hand. With your right hand form into a firmly packed ball and then shape into a hockey puck shaped patty.
Dip each hand into the salted water and repeat forming the onigiri until you've used up all your cooked sushi rice.
These patties are called onigiri. You can fold the strip of nori over one edge and use it as a handle to eat the rice patties. If you like wasabi, smear a little on the rough side of the nori strip before folding it over the patties and start snacking.
Making Yaki Onigiri (grilled rice patties)
Once you've formed all of the onigiri, in a medium hot non-stick pan (you can brush it with some vegetable oil if you wish), sear one side of the onigiri until colour has developed and it's golden brown (2-3 min), turn the patty over so you can sear the 2nd side and brush some soy sauce over the seared first side. Turn when the second side has developed colour, brush the 2nd side with soy sauce and sear the first soy brushed side an additional minute or so. Then, turn and sear the second side an additional minute or so.
You have now seared each side twice, once dry and once with the soy sauce brushed on it.
Use the strip of nori to hold on to your yaki onigiri while eating. Add some wasabi if desired.
Variation 2 - Tuna Salad Onigiri (formed into triangles for variety)
well drained can of tuna (enough for 8 onigiri)
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp mayonnaise
Mix the ingredients above and refrigerate until ready to form onigiri.
Dip each hand into the bowl of salted water and take 1/3 of a cup of the cooked rice into your left hand, forming a loose ball with your right hand. With your thumb form a pocket in the middle of the ball, spoon in a tsp of the tuna salad and close the ball around the filling. You may want to add a bit more rice to the ball to ensure that the filling is well covered.
Tuck the ball of rice into an L-shape formed by the index finger and thumb of your left hand and a reverse L-shape formed by the index finger and thumb of your right hand and from the rice ball into a triangle. Rotate and firm up the triangle so as to sharpen up the three corners of the onigiri.
If this is difficult to manage, simply form the onigiri into the round shape above.
Sear off as above.
Eat
I apologize for the poor instructions. As you can tell, my triangles weren't very well constructed and came apart when grilled. This seems to happen regardless of what I fill them with. The classic version has umeboshi (pickled ume fruits) inside.