Onigiri (Rice Balls)

Name: Onigiri (Rice Balls)
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 3 cups freshly cooked; warm short-grain Japanese rice; 2 tbsp kosher salt; 2 sheets nori (cut into thirds); fillings: 1 grilled salted salmon fillet (flaked) or 2 umeboshi (pickled plums)

Triangles of white rice, often with a filling and wrapped in seaweed.

15 minutes

Serves 4

Snack/Lunch

Contains common allergens

Fish Seafood

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Instructions

6 steps

1
Prepare your fillings (flake the salmon, pit the umeboshi) and set up a workstation with a bowl of warm water, a small dish of kosher salt, and the warm rice.

2
Wet your hands thoroughly in the bowl of water to prevent the sticky rice from clinging to your skin.
3
Dip two fingers into the kosher salt and rub the salt evenly over both palms (this flavors the rice and acts as a natural preservative).
4
Scoop roughly 1/2 cup of warm rice into one hand. Gently flatten it slightly and press an indentation into the center.
5
Place 1 tablespoon of your chosen filling into the indent, then fold the surrounding rice over the filling to completely encase it.
6
Cup your hands into a 'V' shape and gently press and rotate the rice ball 5-6 times to form a firm, neat triangle. Do not squeeze too hard, or the rice will become mushy. Wrap the bottom edge with a strip of crisp nori just before eating.

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