Recipe from Tim Anderson
Adapted by Alexa Weibel
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus optional marinating
- Rating
- 4(469)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Onigiri, also known as omusube, are portable snacks, often sold in Japanese convenience stores, which are traditionally stuffed with salty, tangy fillings, then wrapped in seaweed. When grilled, glazed or cooked, they become yaki onigiri. In this version, adapted from “Vegan JapanEasy: Classic and Modern Vegan Japanese Recipes to Cook at Home” by Tim Anderson (Hardie Grant, 2020), a little bit of the pickled shiitake filling goes a long way. (The recipe makes extra, which you can keep refrigerated to add to stir-fries, ramen or even omelets.) You could also stuff these with finely chopped kimchi, Japanese pickles, sautéed greens or nothing at all. Available online or at most Japanese supermarkets, an onigiri mold makes for sleek shaping, but, with a little practice, you could also form the shape by hand, or simply roll the rice between your palms into balls. For hot yaki onigiri, brush them with the miso glaze, which will form a delightful crackly, caramelized crust when broiled. —Alexa Weibel
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 12 onigiri (2 to 4 servings)
- 24dried shiitake mushrooms
- ½teaspoon Japanese chile flakes, or a pinch of cayenne or red-pepper flakes
- ¾cup tamari or soy sauce (preferably low sodium)
- ½cup mirin
- 3tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1½cups sushi rice (Japanese short-grain rice)
- Neutral oil, for brushing
- Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
- 1sheet of nori, cut into small rectangles (optional)
- 2tablespoons red or white miso
- 1tablespoon sesame oil
- 2teaspoons mirin
- 2teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2teaspoons sake or water
- ½teaspoon rice vinegar, lime juice or other vinegar
For the Mushroom Filling (optional)
For the Onigiri
For the Miso Glaze (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
480 calories; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 83 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 2948 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Prepare the filling, if using: Add the shiitakes to a medium saucepan and top with cold water by a couple of inches. Stir to combine. Heat over medium-low just until bubbles start to break the surface. Cover and set aside to rehydrate for about 30 minutes. Once the mushrooms are tender, transfer them to a cutting board and thinly slice. (Save the mushroom stock for another use.) Toss sliced mushrooms with chile flakes, then transfer to a jar or lidded container. Top with soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar. Cover and refrigerate. Let pickle at least 2 hours to develop flavor. They’re even better after a few days and will keep refrigerated for up to 6 months.
Step
2
After the mushrooms have pickled (if using), prepare the rice: Add the rice to a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Rinse the grains to remove any excess starch, and cover rice with cold water by 1 or 2 inches. Swish them around with outstretched fingers, then drain the rice, repeating the process three or four times until the water goes from milky to just slightly cloudy.
Step
3
Pour 1¾ cups/420 milliliters water into the rinsed, drained rice, and give the rice a stir to distribute evenly. If time permits, let the rice soak for 15 to 30 minutes, which will help the grains cook even more evenly.
Step
4
Heat the rice over high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover it with the lid and reduce the heat to low or medium-low. You want a low heat that is still high enough to hear the rice bubbling. You should be able to see some steam escaping from the lid; turn the heat up slightly if necessary. Set a timer for 15 minutes and let it cook, undisturbed. (No peeking, or you’ll lose precious moisture!)
Step
5
After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and gently fluff the rice using chopsticks or a fork. Put the lid back on and let sit for another 5 to 10 minutes to finish cooking in the residual heat. Tip the rice onto a baking sheet to cool slightly.
Step
6
While the rice cooks, prepare the miso sauce, if making hot, glazed yaki onigiri: In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, sesame oil, mirin, sugar, sake and rice vinegar until smooth and sugar has dissolved.
Step
7
Once the rice has cooled enough to be handled comfortably, brush a baking sheet lightly with neutral oil, so the onigiri don’t stick, and prepare a bowl of water for rinsing your hand to prevent the rice from sticking. Form your onigiri. If using Japanese onigiri mold, press about ⅓ cup cooked rice in the bottom, press an indentation in the center to stuff with about 2 teaspoons of finely chopped filling, then top with another ⅓ cup layer of rice, pressing down with the top piece of your rice mold. Transfer onigiri to the greased baking sheet.
Step
8
If working by hand, you’ll want to grab a large handful of rice, compress the rice into a ball in the palm of your hand, then press the sides to form a triangular shape, flattening it into a triangular patty. (This shaping process requires some finesse, but you can also form rounded balls and simply compress them into pucks.) Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, rinsing your hands as needed.
Step
9
If stuffing with mushrooms or other fillings, you’ll need only a few finely chopped tablespoons: 1 to 3 teaspoons per onigiri, depending on the size of your rice rolls. Compress the first handful of rice in your palm. Add the filling to the center and fold the rice up the sides. (You want to make sure the filling is just in the center portion. If the rice doesn’t create a seal, the onigiri will fall apart.) Top with another layer of rice and compress on all sides to form onigiri in the desired shape.
Step
10
Garnish with sesame seeds and wrap with a small rectangle of nori, if using, and serve immediately. (Onigiri can be prepared 1 day in advance, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated, but should come to room temperature before being consumed.)
Step
11
If making yaki onigiri, brush the top of the onigiri with miso sauce. Transfer to the oven and broil until the glaze forms a crust that is golden and lightly browned in spots, rotating if necessary, about 5 minutes. Carefully slip a flat spatula underneath to flip yaki onigiri; brush on the other side and broil until glazed on the second side, another 5 minutes. Garnish as you would onigiri.
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out of 5
469
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Cooking Notes
Brent D. Smith
Onigiri really doesn’t need a recipe. It’s simply using your left overs and wrapping them in rice. The veggies from last nights dinner. The leftover fish. It’s that simple. Whether you use a fancy (non-Japanese btw) glaze is purely up to you. But don’t make the humble onigiri into a stressful situation. Never refrigerate rice and expect to make onigiri. Make refrigerated rice into fried rice.
Alexis H
Is it possible to use fresh shiitake mushrooms rather than rehydrating dried?
James Yoshikawa Conwell
I’m half Japanese and my mom made these using nori and sometimes nothing but salt and roasted sesame seeds and a little rice vinegar. You probably wonder just plain rice with the three ingredients. But I’m going to try roasting them in a frying pan. For people who don’t like pickled plum, mushrooms or any other filling try making without filling and dip plain rice ball in soy sauce.
KYS
I usually make non-miso yaki onirigi on a pan, but when using miso, broiling it in the oven prevented the miso from burning too quickly. Refrigerating rice will make it hard and ruin the onigiri. You can add a bit of salt and water to your hands when forming the onigiri if making a day ahead and you're worried about it going bad (and if whatever you put inside isn't perishable).
Paul S.
Simple clean way to form the rice pucks: use a spoon to press it into a metal measuring cup (1/3 cup seemed about right).
Ghoulen
I made two variants of the mushroom filling, one by the recipe and one with a clove of thinly sliced garlic. We preferred the garlic variant. I used fresh shiitakes and found that they worked well.
Jane
In order to get the nice cute triangles by hand, just press the rice ball into the angle between thumb and forefinger. I feel like most people just use a rice cooker (which is also good for banana bread btw). My favorite fillings are tuna salad and umeboshi.
Siobhan
Actually the glaze is totally Japanese. Yaki musubi (fried onigiri) are usually glazed and are an Izakaya staple!
Ellen Richter
My favorite filling for onigiri is umeboshi, Japanese pickled plum.
Joyce Nagata
I made these small, kid sized, with bits of minced leftover meats, teriyaki salmon, tuna, anything leftover for lunch. No seaweed because they didn't like that. If refridgerated, heat in the micrwowave for about 20 to 30 sec. to warm the rice again. Brushing it with a teriyaki sauce and frying low was also a big hit.
Kaytee
Miso yaki onigiri is very Japanese. I had it in Nagano Japan this February and it was unforgetable; simple and so flavorful.
Jay
24 dried shiitake seem way too many for making only 6-12 onigiri. Hydrated, they would be almost a quart. Do they mean "2-4" dried shiitake?
Monaka
If you're not glazing your onigiri, you can season them by sprinkling some salt onto your wet hands before shaping the rice.
Mx.Sofie
Don't use real Mikawa Mirin. This dish will cost $501/2 cup of cheap "mirin" is what they mean, lots of corn syrup in those though.
shindig
Sounds really good. I have dehydrated sliced shiitakes not whole. Need info for conversion.What is the weight or volume of 24 whole dehydrated shiitakes?
Jay
I just weighed 24 whole dehydrated shiitake (with stems on). It will vary by size of course, but I got 125 g / 4-3/8 oz. As I commented elsewhere, 24 whole shiitake seems like too many---it's about 1 qt dried, and probably 6 cups hydrated. I suspect the "24" should be "2 to 4".
Read
I'd use the shiitake soaking liquid to cook the rice—is there a reason not to?
Mx.Sofie
the 'mirin' and soy have a ton of sodium
Lisa
I love onigiri and forget to make it at home. I appreciate there are accidentally vegan options at the Japanese markets near me here in SF. This looks delicious and I can't wait to try it! Thank you _/\_
Anne
The pickled mushrooms were SO good. I have a lot leftover and am excited to find ways to use them. I formed these by hand with mixed success. They seemed to do alright under the broiler and then when I flipped them over, the majority broke apart. That said, they were still delicious. I would definitely consider getting myself a mold and making these a staple...
Shoshana
Is there any reason I can't use a rice cooker to cook the rice? The time seems very low for cooking sushi rice, so I was wondering if it needs to be less cooked?
Chris Pineview GA
This is so delicious. I am going to buy a onigiri press to improve the appearance Only $5 on Amazon
Faith
Please, when printing fractions in the directions, use the vertical convention as you do in the list of ingredients. In step 3, just glancing at the direction, I misread "1 3/4 cups/420 milliliters water" as "4 cups" and so the rice was ruined.
lizzy zinn
We smoked a big salmon and served with these rice balls. It was delicious! Added a side of roasted broccoli with citrus vinaigrette made this a entertaining meal that delivered. So nice to be cooking for friends again!
Ghoulen
I made two variants of the mushroom filling, one by the recipe and one with a clove of thinly sliced garlic. We preferred the garlic variant. I used fresh shiitakes and found that they worked well.
recipe changes
Such a fun quarantine activity!!! If they were quicker to make I would make these all the time. It’s also a lot of rice for very little filling
Paul S.
Simple clean way to form the rice pucks: use a spoon to press it into a metal measuring cup (1/3 cup seemed about right).
Joyce Nagata
I made these small, kid sized, with bits of minced leftover meats, teriyaki salmon, tuna, anything leftover for lunch. No seaweed because they didn't like that. If refridgerated, heat in the micrwowave for about 20 to 30 sec. to warm the rice again. Brushing it with a teriyaki sauce and frying low was also a big hit.
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