ONIGIRI: JAPANESE RICE CAKES

Ingredients

Rice Cakes

• 1 cup short or medium-grain rice (preferably japonica or Italian-style risotto)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• At least 2 sheets of roasted seaweed

Filling 1

• 1/2 pound salmon filet
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon water

Filling 2

• 1/4 cup gobo root, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 1 medium sized carrot, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 1 chili pepper, minced

How to Make

Stage 1 - Cook Onigiri Rice

1. Take your rice and water, and either cook it in a rice-cooker for ~15 minutes, or bring it to a quick boil then a ~15 minute simmer in a small pot
2. After ~15 minutes, take your cooked rice and lay flat on a baking dish lined with parchment paper
3. With a small spoon, sprinkle your rice wine vinegar over all of your rice. Set it aside and cook your filling

Stage 2 - Cook Onigiri Filling

1. In a small bowl, mix your soy sauce, honey, water, garlic powder and ginger powder together to create a quick teriyaki-style dressing
2. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat with a dash of oil. With the oil hot, add your salmon and begin to sear
3. After a minute of initial searing, pour in your teriyaki sauce over the salmon, and mix around to integrate the sauce into the salmon
4. Begin flaking your salmon filet, then remove from the saucepan and set aside
5. In the same saucepan, heat a dash of oil and add your gobo root, carrot and chili pepper
6. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the gobo root begins to soften, then remove your saucepan from the heat and mix your gobo root and flaked salmon together

Stage 3 - Prepare the Onigiri

1. With your filling made, start making your onigiri by taking a handful of your rice in the palm of your hand. To keep the rice from sticking to your hand, wet your hands with water first
2. Create a small pocket in your rice, and spoon some of your filling into the pocket
3. Close your rice around the filling to create your rice ball. If you’d like, you can shape your onigiri into any type of shape you want (i.e. square, triangle, etc)
4. Cut a piece of your roasted seaweed, and wrap it around your onigiri. It can be as much seaweed as to cover all the rice, or it can be as little as a strip of seaweed around. It’s completely up to you
5. Set it aside, and continue making as many onigiri as your ingredients will allow. Then enjoy!