Recipe: ONIGIRAZU

One of the food trends in Japan right now is this – Onigirazu (おにぎらず).

I first came across this food term, Onigirazu on Instagram and have always wanted to try making it. Then. Y-chan asked why not I go ahead and make onigirazu for him as his lunch because he’s sick and tired of eating conbini food. I said OK and went to search the net for instructions and even head to the bookstore to scoop some infos. 😉

Onigiri – Rice ball gripped into triangle shape. 

Onigirazu – Rice ball that doesn’t need to be shaped.

So, shall we start? 🙂

Things to prepare:

• Sushi Seaweed
• Cling Wrap
• Rice bowl
• Salt
• Fillings (whatever you want to eat)

1. Lay a piece of cling wrap (must be bigger than the seaweed) and place the seaweed on top of it.

2. Scoop rice into the rice bowl (approx. 80g ~ 100g).

3. Place the rice on the center of the seaweed and ‘pop’ the rice out. 

4. Spread and ‘flatten’ the rice out to form an oval. Then sprinkle salt sparsely over the rice.

5. Place the fillings on top of the rice. (In this example, I’m using kinpira as I made a batch of it yesterday.) (Not a good match with cheese though.)

6. Then, scoop an equal amount of rice into the rice bowl and layer it on top of the fillings and flatten it out (somehow it looks like MOS rice burger). 😉 *Remember to sprinkle salt too!* 

7. Hold one corner of the seaweed and fold it towards the center of the oval.

8. Do likewise for the opposite ends.

9. Fold in the sides of the seaweed (like you’re wrapping a present!).

10. Repeat the same folding steps on the cling wrap and…… DONE! 😀 (Once completed, you can do the last shaping of the onigirazu before slicing.)

Simple & Easy right? 😀 I managed to get the hang of it on my 2nd attempt and took less than 30 minutes to prepare 2 onigirazus.

Wait. Do not slice the pipping hot onigirazu straight after it’s done. Allow it to set it shape before slicing so that it won’t be messy when the knife sliced through.

How do I get a pretty side profile of onigirazu when halved? 

1. Make sure your knife is sharp.
2. Dip your knife in water and let the sharp ends get coated with water (so that rice won’t stick to your knife, this tip also works when slicing sushi).
3. Plan the way you place your fillings (e.g. sliced ham, sausages), refer below.

Tips: Place sliced hams in this way to give volume, and of course looks prettier when halved.

Always remember to sprinkle salt on the rice unless the fillings itself is heavy in flavour. On my first attempt, I forgotten to sprinkle salt and the whole onigirazu tasted kinda ‘dull’.

DONE. 2 onigirazus. 😀

When sliced, this is how it looks. 🙂

I’ll usually pack 3 instead of all 4 because Y-chan will get very full (and I get to have half of it for my lunch). 😉

I hope this is useful to you all and drop me a comment if you have any questions on it. 😀

**UPDATE**

Hello, I’m asked for more variety about what to add in to Onigirazu, so how about tamagoyaki + ham (with lettuce & mayonnaise)? Click here on how to make tamagoyaki!

P/s: I decided to share the recipe of how to make kinpira here.

Ingredients: Shredded Burdock (牛蒡) – 100g (if you cannot find burdock, try lotus roots), Shredded Carrot – 100g, sesame oil – 2 tablespoons, sugar – 1 tablespoon, mirin – 2 tablespoons, shoyu – 2 tablespoons, white sesame – 1½ teaspoon.

Steps: Soak shredded burdock in water with a teaspoon of vinegar for 5 mins and drain of the excess water well. Heat up sesame oil in pan, stir-fry the burdock for about 2 minutes on medium heat. Then add in the shredded carrot and stir-fry till carrot softens. Add in the seasonings and let it simmer till the sauce thickens. Lastly, add in the white sesame and turn off heat.