onigiri!

i love onigiri!

おにぎり好き！

onigiri : noun, japanese

(pronounced "oh-nee-gee-ree")

1.  delicious use of leftovers
2.  quick to-go lunch
3.  steamed rice balls filled with delicious goodies and covered in nori seaweed.

onigiri is the ULTIMATE to-go food in japan.  a lot of japanese people find it strange that westerners have never heard of onigiri, because it is the japanese equivalent of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  every child gets it in their lunch box (some of which are triangle-shaped to fit onigiri).

why is it so great?
for one thing, the salty goodies on the inside actually speed-ferment the rice so that you don't need to refrigerate it.  it stays fresh all day!
also, the nori seaweed "diaper" on the outside of the onigiri keeps the sticky grains of rice from getting stuck to your hands, making for a truly mess-free experience.

what can you put in it?
you can put anything in onigiri.  traditionally, umeboshi plums, pickled daikon (called takuwan), and salty fish are the most common fillings.  it's a great way to recycle fridge leftovers, like last night's salmon teriyaki.  you can see that i put a small dollop of each filling on top of the onigiri in the picture.  this is so that i can identify what's inside!

recipe please?
here we go.  the only thing i pre-made here was 2 cups of short grain brown rice.  friends, this is the time to use up your leftovers.  do not use any other kind of rice besides short-grain.  it won't hold together.

this looks wicked gross, but i swear it's not.  

it's a pickled umeboshi plum (available at whole foods), 

pit removed, cut into strips.

put about 1/3 cup cooked rice in your wet hands, shape into

a bird's nest, and put a small dollop of fillings in the center of

the nest.

shape into tiny triangles, placing a teeny piece of the topping

on top so that you know which flavor is which :)

line them up like a tiny, tiny army.

all the little soldiers in a row :)  so cute!!

cut 2"x6" strips of nori, and wrap the bottoms like a diaper.

onigiri is the cutest snack.

::ingredients::

2 cups cooked short-grain brown or white rice

pickled ume plums

natto version - 1/2 cup natto, 2 tbsp minced scallions, 1 tsp dijon mustard, splash tamari

fish version - 1/4 cup shredded bonito fish flakes (whole foods), 1 tsp. tamari, 2 tsp. water

daikon version - 1/3 cup pickled daikon radish, rinced and diced

some of the above combinations require a little mixing and adjusting to taste.  i had a little bowl of natto mixture, a bowl of fish flakes, etc.  and fyi, the fish version was the winner :)