Onigiri

It isn't something new, but it is something that I haven't made for quite a while. That item is onigiri, or rice balls. I think the last time I made them was when I still ate fish, using tuna as a filling. Vegetables can also be used but I never did. Another common filling however is umeboshi, pickled plums, which I could never get until I moved here. It is certainly an interesting taste, one I can't really describe. Next time however I just need to take the seeds pits out before using them as a filling.

Onigiri:

1 cup short grain sushi rice (that's 1 rice cup, about 180 ml, not the US cup measurement of 8 oz/240 ml, it's special for rice)
1 cup water (that's again 1 rice cup)
1-2 Tbsp, rice wine vinegar
6 pc. umeboshi or any other filling you like
1/2 sheet nori, cut into strips


-Cook rice however you normally do, I use a rice cooker. If you cook it on the stove, do it normally.
-Rice is done when all the water is absorbed but it is sticky. Let it cook too long and it will dry and brown in clumps.
-Remove the rice from the cooker or pan into another bowl. Pour the vinegar over the rice and cut through the rice with the rice spatula to disperse the vinegar and cool the rice. Ideally you should fan the rice to cool it as fast as possible but I never have. It is ready to work when it is about at room temperature.
-If your umeboshi has pits in them, remove them.
-Wet your hands and dust some salt on them. Take a good handful of rice. Make a dimple and put in two pieces of umeboshi, or one if it didn't have pits (or any other filling you're using). Shape it into a triangular shape by cupping it in your hands and rotating. It takes practice.
-Slightly moisten the edges of one strip of nori and wrap it around the rice ball.

It makes three decent size rice balls, enough for a good meal.

I have always eaten them right then, but they are also good refrigerated and served cold at a later time, just wrap them after they are made. If you are doing this you may want to keep the nori separate and attach it when eating so it doesn't get soggy.

These are pretty simple but very tasty, at least for me. They are very common snack or lunch foods in Japan but I always make a few and have them as a dinner. I had never used rice vinegar when preparing rice prior to moving here, and it adds some good flavor to it. Its taste was unexpected, something I can't really explain, but it doesn't taste like you'd think when thinking of vinegar.

You can really make these any way you like. Most things are good for filling, they are commonly filled with umeboshi or some kind of fish, but any vegetable works well too. Shaping and wrapping can vary too. Triangles and one strip of nori is the common variety, but it can be shaped any way you like and you can wrap more or little nori, in different designs, completely containing the rice, or not having any at all. It is also common to put sesame seeds on onigiri as well, but I don't like them so I have never used them.