"Onigiri"-Japanese Riceballs, the perfect snack

The Ever Popular Riceballs

In Japan, an onigiri or omusubi is a little ball of rice, usually with some type of filling, warped up in a delicious piece of nori (seaweed). Unlike Sushi rice, which is prepared with vinegar, sugar, and salt, an onigiri/omusubi's rice is plain, if not lightly salted. The rice in an onigiri can be replaced with o-kowa (glutinous rice cooked with vegetables), maze-gohan (rice mixed with other ingredients), or with fried-rice. The fillings range from umeboshi (Japanese pickles), dried foods, and more.

Making onigiri is a breeze. All you need is some rice, salt, and whatever you want to use for the filling. To make a simple onigiri, lets just use rice and salt. Cook the rice and once its ready, at a sink run your hands through cold water, sprinkle salt over your hands (so it'll stick to the rice), and pick up a nice, small scoop of rice with your hands. Now, press against the rice together (almost like making a snowball), and there you go, you have a rice ball ready to be eat! You can add nori, open a little hole for fillings, or even grill up the onigiri with soy sauce for some extra flavor!

Onigiri is a staple Japanese food nowadays, after being a part of Japanese culture for centuries. You can buy these at almost any Japanese supermarket, wrapped in a unique plastic packaging. Rip off the plastic wrapping to combine the rice with the nori and you instantly have a delicious snack. A popular variant of onigiri's in the United States are Spam musubi, a Hawaiian favorite. No matter how you serve an onigiri, they make for a perfect dish, during anytime of the day.

picture of a grilled onigiri