indoor adventures: yaki onigiri

wonder | wander | women love the kind of food that you can have as a meal or a snack. They're great for eating at the movies, refueling while working, or watching TV together at home. Yaki onigiri, or grilled rice balls, are some of our favourites.

Photo courtesy of Just One Cookbook

Back when we were living in Manila we loved going to a Japanese grill restaurant called Nanbantei. One of their specialties was the yaki onigiri: a pair of triangle-shaped rice balls filled with bonito flakes, brushed with miso and soy sauce, and grilled until the rice on the outside was crispy-crunchy. They were served in seaweed wraps, and we were instantly obsessed.

Photo via Trigger Happy Foodie

Mom recently sent me several packets of bonito flakes, and using this recipe I was ready to go. First, ingredients: freshly-cooked sushi rice, bonito flakes, seaweed, soy sauce, sesame oil and miso.

Mix the bonito flakes with some soy sauce and sesame oil, and then mix that into the rice. Form the rice into balls or triangles - use salt and a little cold water to rub on your hands to keep the rice from sticking to them.

Or you can sidestep the whole problem with an onigiri mold. I have a regular one and a mini one - I used the mini one because the bigger ones fall apart more easily when grilled. Also because it's cute.

Press the rice firmly into the mold so it keeps its shape. Soon you'll have a set of little triangles ready for grilling - handle carefully!

Brush the triangles with a mixture of miso and soy sauce as you heat the pan. You can use a little oil here - something neutral like sunflower or rice bran, not a strong-tasting one. 

Then pop the rice balls into the pan, searing them thoroughly on all sides. Traditionally cooks use long chopsticks to turn them over, but I play it safe and use tongs or a spatula. 

Add as many as you like and enjoy the aroma as the rice begins to brown and crisp up.

Finally wrap in seaweed - Japanese roasted nori is best, but I like the Korean seasoned seaweed as it adds a little bit of salt and sesame flavour. Then, go ahead and eat your well-earned snack/meal while enjoying your favourite book or TV show. Oishii!