Tuna Onigiri: Easy Japanese Rice Balls

Japanese style snack. Unusual, but delicious! Onigiri are rice balls with a variety of fillings. They are extremely popular in Japan. The Japanese have onigiri like our butter pies. They take them with them to work and pack them for school for their children. They are sculpted in the shape of animals and decorated with funny faces.
cook time: 40 min
Caleb Huxley
Tuna Onigiri: Easy Japanese Rice Balls

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

46
Calories
1g
Fat
7g
Carbs
2g
Protein

Ingredients (9 portions)

Basic:

Water 2 l
Mayonnaise 1 tbsp
Sesame 2 tsp
Round rice 1 cup
Tuna canned 200 g
Nori 40 g

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to make onigiri with canned tuna? Only short grain rice is suitable for onigiri due to its stickiness. Long grain is too crumbly, but Kuban is perfect. Rinse the rice thoroughly under running water, or in a bowl of water, changing the water several times until it becomes clear. This will remove excess starch from the rice. After this, drain the rice in a colander and let it stand for 30 minutes — this will allow it to absorb a little water.

Step 2

Step 2
Pour cold water into the pan and immediately add rice there. Cook until boiling over high heat without a lid. There is no need to add salt, as the rice for onigiri should be fresh.

Step 3

Step 3
As soon as the rice boils, immediately cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes. All this time we do not interfere at all and do not open the lid. When the cooking time is over, remove the pan from the heat and let stand for another 15 minutes.

Step 4

Step 4
Remove the lid from the pan and stir with gentle cutting movements, letting it cool slightly. You can transfer the rice from the pan to a bowl — this will allow it to cool faster. Important — the rice must remain warm.

Step 5

Step 5
Prepare the filling. Mix canned tuna fillet with mayonnaise. The structure of the filling should be finely homogeneous, so it is more convenient to knead and mix the fish with a fork.

Step 6

Step 6
Add shavings of nori seaweed to the filling. It is difficult to tell by the required amount of algae, because they are weightless. Therefore, it is worth adding according to taste. I used pastry scissors and cut the nori into thin strips. Mix the filling thoroughly.

Step 7

Step 7
Wet your hands with water and take about seventy grams of rice. Distribute it evenly in your palm and place a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of the rice cake. Bring the edges of the tortilla towards the center and form into a ball, trying to seal the filling inside.

Step 8

Step 8
Shape the rice ball into a flat triangular shape. The main thing here is to get used to it. Each subsequent onigiri will look better than the previous one. And, of course, do not forget that your hands should be wet.

Step 9

Step 9
Using scissors, cut strips of nori six centimeters long and two centimeters wide and wrap them around each onigiri. Decorate with nori if desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Due to the fact that only the filling has a bright taste in onigiri, they are served with soy sauce, cold.

Additional rubrics

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