Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)

[faunablues]

Hope you like the photo (the smile is made of pickled ginger).

[Ayako]

cute picture 
the Japanese really make it an art to decorate their food, a friend of mine bought a whole book on that topic, it's amazing how skilled they are 
Keep on practising the forming (my triangles are now perfect ^^)

[Duckalucky]

These are so good.  Filling, comfort-y, and just the size to eat out of hand.  Great lunchbox food.  I like to stick a little strip of nori seaweed to them so that I have an un-sticky part to hold them by. 

If you do an Internet search for onigiri molds, you will find wonderful, reusable plastic rice-shaping tools.  You simply put the rice (and any fillings you want) into the molds and squish the lid onto them, and they turn out frighteningly perfect.

I'm into spicy food, and love to sneak a spicy filling into the middle (it has to be mostly dry or it leaks and makes the rice want not to hold together).  If you like kimchi, it's good squeezed mostly dry, chopped fine, and stuffed into the middle, too.

[CagesOrWings]

I'm currently refrigerating the rice, and can't wait to make it and see what it tastes like!

I think I added a bit too much avocado, because it turned light green, but I did a little taste-test and it was wonderful

I used a sushi rice recipe from elsewhere that required sesame seeds already, so I didn't use the ones called for in this recipe, but I don't like sesame seeds that much anyway...

This was a perfect recipe, because I had all the ingredients I needed left over from making sushi last night

This seems like a great bag-lunch item

Anyway, I've always wanted to try onigiri, being somewhat of an anime otaku, so this is perfect!

Thank you!

[GanymedeCarrot]

I think I will begin to make this atleast once a month. How simple and delicious!

[madhoyden]

I want to try this. However, I don't know if I could get the furikake seasoning. I don't know even what it is. Does anyone know if it will work if I just use regular sushi vinegar to flavor the rice? Just using plain rice seems a bit bland to me.

[Mrs Mazz]

furikake is a mixture of ground seaweed, sugar, salt, sesame seeds, and sometimes ground fishy stuff, egg and or vegies that is sprinkled on rice to add flavour...you should be able to get it at any asian food store in many varieties... though it is hard to tell if it is a vagan one as the writing is usually in Japanese... or you can just add your own flavours... I have not made these particular ones, but when making onigiri, I usually add sesame seeds, celtic sea salt, and finely chopped seaweed... sometimes even a sprinkle of ground nuts..

[Ayako]

You can try this without the furikake, it's good as well, though furikake adds that little special something 

[sxejennifersxe]

  This helps

[yogaferret]

I want to try this. However, I don't know if I could get the furikake seasoning. I don't know even what it is. Does anyone know if it will work if I just use regular sushi vinegar to flavor the rice? Just using plain rice seems a bit bland to me.

 Normally, you put things inside onigiri - umeboshi, cooked eggs, fish, tuna and mayo, etc.Furikake is the dry seasoning you sprinkle on TOP.  You literally 'furikakete'.  It's not used for onigiri but can be a nice addition.  It often comes in many flavors too.

Traditionally, you mix the regular sushi vinegar in with the rice or apply directly to your hands just to make the rice easier to form. 

[moonshyne]

i mixed kimchi into the rice, because I had a giant thing of it and no clue what to make with it. I was scared of it at first (have you ever smelled kimchi? nuff said!) but it turned out awesome. 
To shape the onigiri, I used a slightly dampened piece of platics wrap placed inside a 1c measuring cup (with enough wrap hanging over edge of the cup). I filled it with the rice/kimchi mixture, and then brought the overhanging platic wrap together and spun it around, leaving a tight little ball of rice hanging from the bottom. From there you can shape it easily and with no mess. The first time I tried making onigiri, I thought I was gonna hand roll it and ended up wearing half of my rice instead.

[silystarrfish]

yum! i love onigiri.
I eat it for lunch almost weekly.

I love to fill it with roasted red bell peppers, avocado, pine-nuts, toasted sesame seeds, cucumber, tofu, cut-up inari (fried tofu) pockets and anything else thats sitting in my cupboard or fridge.

When shaping it really helps to have a bowl of warm water handy, keep your hands wet, and the rice won't stick.

[acpm_0503]

I'm going to try these using cookie cutters as molds

http://lunchinabox.net/2007/07/02/tip-use-cookie-cutters-as-onigiri-molds/

[damekiri]

I want to try this. However, I don't know if I could get the furikake seasoning. I don't know even what it is. Does anyone know if it will work if I just use regular sushi vinegar to flavor the rice? Just using plain rice seems a bit bland to me.

 Normally, you put things inside onigiri - umeboshi, cooked eggs, fish, tuna and mayo, etc.Furikake is the dry seasoning you sprinkle on TOP.  You literally 'furikakete'.  It's not used for onigiri but can be a nice addition.  It often comes in many flavors too.

Traditionally, you mix the regular sushi vinegar in with the rice or apply directly to your hands just to make the rice easier to form. 

Actually you should use salt to flavour it, vinegar would be used to make sushi, these are onigiri which are meant to be made from plain rice or lightly salted rice, where as sushi is vinegared rice.