Quick & Easy Onigiri (3 Ingredients)

Onigiri are a quick, easy, and healthy snack for busy days! Enjoy them plain, stuffed with fillings, or wrapped in nori.

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Equipment

Small bowls

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

▢ 3 ½ cups Cooked Japanese short-grain rice
▢ ¼ cup filtered water
▢ 1-2 teaspoons salt
▢ 4-5 nori sheets, cut into thirds or strips

Sesame flavor

▢ 1-2 tablespoons Black or white sesame seeds

Garlic-miso flavor

▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 2 tablespoons white miso paste

Carrot “kinpira” flavor

▢ ½ tablespoon sesame oil
▢ 1 small carrot, julienned or shredded
▢ 1 clove garlic, minced
▢ 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Instructions

Rice

Follow the instructions in my sushi rice post, but do not season the rice with the sushi vinegar mixture (you will be seasoning it with salt when shaping it). Keep the rice warm in a covered bowl.

Fillings

If you want to fill your onigiri, combine the miso paste and garlic powder. For the carrot kinpira, heat the sesame oil in a small skillet over medium.
Once hot, sauté the carrots and minced garlic for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the soy sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Assembly (filled)

Add filtered water to one bowl and salt to another. Wet both hands with the water, then dip a few fingers into the bowl of salt and rub your hands together (this will prevent the rice from sticking, and add flavor).
Grab a palmful of sticky rice, pressing it together slightly. Holding it in one palm of your hand, make a small indentation in the middle. Fill it with a teaspoon of garlic-miso paste or carrots.
Close the rice over the filling into a ball, pressing it gently. Close the fingers of your bottom hand, and at the same time, press over the rice ball with your top fingers in a perpendicular motion. Continue pressing and shaping the rice into a triangle, using mainly your fingers.
Once it’s shaped, you can wrap it in a piece of nori. Place the onigiri in the middle of the cut nori. Fold one side over, followed by the other (like a robe).
Tuck the bottom underneath and set the onigiri down. Add a fingerful of filling to the top so you know which flavor it is.

Assembly (non-filled)

Add filtered water to one bowl and salt to another. Wet both hands with the water, then dip a few fingers into the bowl of salt and rub your hands together
Grab a palmful of sticky rice, and shape it into a triangle the same as before.
Once shaped, Add a strip of nori underneath it. Sprinkle or roll the outsides in sesame seeds. Continue with the remaining rice. Happy eating!

Notes

Fresh rice: Warm, fresh rice makes all the difference. Make your rice just before preparing this recipe for the best results.

Keep the onigiri soft: As you prepare the rice balls, keep the finished ones covered so the rice stays moist.

Add filling to the top: If you’re working with different fillings, don't forget to add a dollop to the tops of the onigiri so you know what’s inside each one.

Wait for the nori: Wait to wrap them in nori until just before you’re going to eat them to keep the nori crispy.

Water prevents the rice from sticking to your hands, making shaping the onigiri much easier, and salt helps season and preserve the rice.

If the rice starts sticking to your palms as you're shaping the ball, dip your hands in the bowl of water again and continue shaping it.

Cut the nori into thinner strips before wrapping the rice ball so it doesn't engulf the onigiri.

Nutritional information is a rough estimate and should not be taken as health advice.

Nutrition

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