Onigiri Rice Balls Recipe

Onigiri is rather easy to make with only three ingredients: cooked rice, seasoning, and nori seaweed to decorate. Each resident can make their own. The shapes you make will improve with practice!

You will need:

Japanese rice - 2 cups

Furikake seasoning - 1 tablespoon

Nori seaweed

A bowl of warm water with 2 teaspoons of salt

Optional: drained flaked tinned salmon

NOTE: Furikake is rice seasoning and comes in many flavors. Don’t buy any seasoning with chilli or wasabi.

Cook the rice:

Make 2 cups of rice in a rice cooker according to instructions or use the absorption method below.

Cooking rice by absorption method (if rice cooker is not available)

Wash 2 cups of rice 3 times until the water runs clear.

Drain and place rice in a heavy-bottomed pot with 2 cups of water over high heat.

Cover and allow to boil, then turn the heat down to low.

Cook for 15 minutes - do not open the lid!

After 15 minutes, remove from heat and wait another 10 minutes, with lid on.

After 10 minutes, remove the lid and turn rice 3 or 4 times from the bottom with a spatula.

Make the Onigiri

Wash your hands thoroughly.

Sprinkle the seasoning over the rice and lightly mix.

Wet your hands in the salty water (each participant should have their own salty water) and start to form a triangle with your hands (without squishing the rice - it must remain fluffy). Watch someone making Onigiri in this video.

If it's too difficult, make a fluffy ball instead.

Optional: Make a little hole in the formed ball/triangle and place a teaspoon of flaked salmon. Cover and reshape the ball.

Wrap a strip of nori around it anyway you want.