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Onigiri is a type of Japanese riceball. It is an on-the-go snack and can be found in almost every convenience store in Japan. These riceballs come in a variety of fillings, and you can definitely customise the filling ingredients to anything you like! Today we are going to make the fillings using Kombu, a type of Japanese seaweed with high nutritional values. It will help to enhance the flavour of your onigiri.
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Let’s get started with creating your own onigiri. We hope you enjoy our recipe as much as we do!
Recipe
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Easy Onigiri Recipe
Equipment
- Rice cooker
- Onigiri mold
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 2 cups short grain rice
- 2 cups water
- 2 sheets nori
- 1 tbsp salt
Ingredients for fillings
- 1/4 cup kombu
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 3.5 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
Make rice
- Use a rice cooker. When the rice is ready, transfer the rice to a large bowl and add in 1 tbsp of salt and mix well.
Make Kombu fillings
- Soak the Kombu in water for 15 minutes until it is soft. Cut the Kombu into thin, small slices and put back into water.
- Add some rice vinegar to the water and let it soak for another 15-30 minutes, depending on how hard the Kombu is. Rice vinegar will help it become more tenderised.
- Place this mixture into a sauce pan on low heat. Add in the sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and bring it to a simmer. Cook for another 20 minutes. If the mixture starts drying out, add in a little water.
- When the kombu is done, it should be soft, well-caramelised with no liquid left in the pan. Let it cool on the side.
Creating onigiri
- Use a damp cloth to wipe your onigiri mold and its top piece.
- Fill the rice up until halfway and make sure to press it down to all corners of the mold.
- Make a deep indentation at the centre of the rice and add in the filling. Be careful not to overfill.
- Fill in the rest of the mold with rice. Use the top piece to gently press and mold the shape.
- Remove the onigiri out of the mold and take a nori sheet to wrap around it. Continue to make more onigiri until you have no more rice.
Recommended Products
Here are some of our recommendations for high-quality and flavourful kombu products! Enjoy!