Making lunches, both for school and work, has never been easier than when our family learned about onigiri. Onigiri is a staple of Japanese bento boxes. Made of Rice and fillings, sometimes wrapped in nori or sprinkled with Furikake seasoning, Onigiri takes little preparation and is quick to make. The fillings can range from tuna salad and other fish to miso and pickled fruits. Our current favorite filling is smoked salmon, cream cheese and simple, pickled cucumbers. We like to make enough for several days worth of lunches to make our mornings easier.
You will need:
Cooked white rice - we use about 2 1/2 cups at a time
Rice wine vinegar - an 1/8th of a cup for the rice, an 1/8th of a cup for the cucumbers and a bit more for preparing the onigiri
Cucumber - 1/4 cup finely diced (We prefer English cucumbers as they tend to hold their crunch)
Smoked salmon - 1/4 cup chopped
Cream cheese - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Nori or Furikake seasoning to taste
Plastic wrap
After you have started your rice cooking, finely dice your cucumber.
Mix the cucumbers with an 1/8th cup of rice vinegar and set aside.
Next dice up the smoked salmon. There is no need to be picky about the size of the pieces just as long as they are small enough to blend into the cream cheese.
Add cream cheese to a bowl and use a fork to mix the salmon in. Once the salmon is mixed in, drain the cucumbers thoroughly and add them to the mixture.
By now your rice should be cooked. Let it cool for a few minutes while you combine the rice vinegar set aside for the rice and the tsp of sugar. Mix them together until the sugar dissolves. We warm our mixture in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to help the sugar blend in. Traditionally, onigiri is make with plain rice, but we prefer ours to be closer to sushi rice.
Add the vinegar/sugar mixture to the rice and...
fold it in until it is mixed evenly throughout.
Using a measuring cup dipped in rice vinegar,
scoop out a rice ball onto a small piece of plastic wrap.
Use the bottom of the measuring cup to flatten it out leaving a small depression in the middle. Re-dip the cup in the vinegar if the rice is sticking to it.
Add the salmon mixture to the flatten rice.
Now grab the sides of the plastic wrap and fold towards the middle.
After pulling all of the edges to the middle, use your hands to form a ball within the plastic wrap.
After you have formed a solid ball, open the top back up and add a sprinkle of furikake or wrap the outside in a strip of nori.
If you're not eating them immediately, close the plastic wrap back up and store them in the fridge. Around here we make some for the day of and several for lunches for a few days.
These are fun to make and more fun to eat!
