Japanese Rice Balls (Onigiri)

Japanese Rice Balls (Onigiri)

3.8 of 5 (16)
editors choice
Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 12
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 220.0
  • Total Fat: 0.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 141.6 mg
  • Sodium: 404.3 mg
  • Total Carbs: 44.2 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 0.3 g
  • Protein: 6.8 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Japanese Rice Balls (Onigiri) calories by ingredient



Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

    4 cups medium grain rice
    1 envelope bonito shavings
    5 seasoned plums (umeboshi)
    4 ounces salmon
    2 sheets nori
    2 tsp salt

Directions

Rinse salmon and pat dry with a paper towel.
Sprinkle with salt.
Place on a rack over a cookie sheet or small dish and bake in 400F oven for an hour to dry it out.
Cook rice according to package directions (i.e. without adding fat) so that it's sticky.
Prepare three bowls.
When salmon is done, ground the fillet up into small pieces with a fork or mortar and pestle and place in the first bowl.
Mash seasoned plums with a fork and place in second bowl. Empty contents of one small bonito shaving envelope into the third bowl.
Divide rice into three portions, and add one portion to each bowl.
Mix lightly to combine with seasoning ingredient.
Wet hands slightly.
Dip one finger tip into leftover salt and smear the salt so that sticks on both hands.
Take 1/4 of rice mixture from first bowl.
Form into a ball. Make it compact, but not so much that the grains of rice become mush.
Form into a triangle, square, or cylinder. Repeat for the remaining rice.
Each seasoning bowl should yield four rice balls, for a total of twelve.
Place each one on a piece of parchment paper to keep them from sticking.
Cut each sheet of nori into three strips lengthwise.
Then cut each strip in half.
Wrap one small strip of nori around the bottom of each rice ball to form an envelope to hold it with.
Serve immediately. If you won't be serving immediately, wait to wrap the rice in the nori, as it will absorb water from the rice and lose its crunch. Instead, wrap tightly and refrigerate. Let the rice balls come to room temperature before serving.

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user PRTYBRD.

Member Ratings For This Recipe


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    Incredible!
    4 of 5 people found this review helpful
    I love onigiri, it makes a good lunch/snack. I tend to use tuna instead of salmon, but it is just as good. :) - 2/26/08


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I have happy memories of rice balls (onigiri) as picnic items after going on a long hike through northern Japan. I have always wanted a recipe for them -- and here we are! I remember simple variations that were really tasty. Thanks! - 1/18/10


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Make sure to use sticky rice (short grain, sushi) to make it easier. The salt is mostly used to keep the rice from sticking to your hands. I like to fill mine with ginger beef cooked in a sake reduction. - 1/18/10


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    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
    This sounds delicious but I question whether it is healthy to cook salmon at 400 degrees until dried out. Would that not wreck the great omega-3 fatty acids (that I understand are a bit delicate)? Could this work without the cooking the salmon to death part? - 1/18/10


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    thanks for reminding me about this delicious food. Someone asked about the ingredients--well you can find them online easily. In my city, though, there are many Japanese grocery stores. - 1/19/10


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Something about them that is so yummy! I do love onigiri! - 1/18/10


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I have made something similar, although vegetarian. I've taken them to picnics, and most people seem to love them, even those not familiar with this cuisine. I love Japanese food, because most of it is low in fat, and it satisfies me without making me feel stuffed. Do use sticky rice. - 1/18/10


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Can't wait to try. Sounds great, love rice balls. We use left over sushi bits in ours - 1/18/10


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    This sounds interesting and is something I would like to try in the future. - 1/18/10


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    Bad
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I have to question the use of any salt with umeboshi. They are incredibley salty as is. For my taste I found them unedible However I'm not a salt user..Cher Jim - 1/18/10


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Sounds incredable, can't wait to try these - 1/18/10


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I love, love, LOVE onigiri!! ^^ - 3/15/09


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    Incredible!
    First time I ever made Japanese rice balls.....They came out delicious! - 7/15/19


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    Incredible!
    First time I ever made these Japanese rice balls......They're absolutely delicious! - 7/15/19


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    Very Good
    Thank you for sharing this! I know how to make plain onigiri (or musubi, as they are called in Pacific Asia) but I didn't know how to add the salmon to the recipe. I hadn't thought about drying it in the oven. I wonder how smoked salmon would work... - 2/1/12


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    we did not like this . sorry . it gets a big no from our family . - 6/24/11


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    Good
    These ARE good----hard to find all ingrediants but worth it to find-- - 6/24/11


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    Very Good
    I eat thib in the Japanese Resturant, but it had too much salt, I has to share it and drink lots of warm water. - 6/24/11


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    I think the calorie count might be wrong. This is calculated using uncooked rice, 4 cups. If I am not mistaken, it should be 4 cups cooked rice. If I am right, then each Onigiri is closer to 100 calories which is what I would expect. There are lots of optional fillings for these. - 8/6/10


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    0 of 3 people found this review helpful
    Not my thing - 1/18/10


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Thankyou. My (now grown) children used to love the neighbors rice balls after school. But there was a language barrier and I never could learn how to make them. My kids still tell me they wish they knew how to make them since they are a fond memory. I will share the recipe. - 1/18/10


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Where the heck would I find these items? - 1/18/10