Misoyaki Onigiri 味噌焼きおにぎり

Some onigiri specialty stores will emphasize on how great the rice they're using, often imported from Japan too. Well, let me show you one trick and maybe save you some money on buying expensive high-end rice grains.

Use less water when cooking the rice. Yes, it's that simple. You know some people also do that when making fried rice? It's kind of similar to using leftover or overnight rice. Storing rice in the fridge will help drawing out some moisture. So why not start from the beginning and simply use a wee bit less water to cook the rice? I ensure you the end result can be wowing and amazing. I know I was super happy with the rice texture for this batch of misoyaki onigiri.

Misoyaki onigiri 味噌焼きおにぎり - 

Ingredients (for two rice balls)?

• 2 portions of cooked white rice (bouncier texture preferred)
• 4 grams katsuobushi (dried bonita flakes)
• Some sesame oil

Sauce:

• Some white miso
• Some honey (optional)
• Some drinkable water (optional)

How?

Cook the white rice use slightly less than usual amount of water, that way you'll get bouncier grains in the end.

Brush some sesame oil to a big bowl. Scoop two portions of rice to the bowl. Add in 4 grams of katsuobushi, use smaller pieces katsuobushi. Fluff the rice and mix till evenly blended.

Dip both palms with some drinkable water if needed. This can help preventing the rice sticking on your hands when making onigiri. However, since we already brushed some sesame oil on the bowl, the rice shouldn't that sticky, so it's up to you.

Take half of the katsuobushi-mixed rice and form into onigiri, let it be round or triangular shaped, both are fine. Just make sure to flatten the front and end a little so the onigiri won't roll around in the pan later.

Prepare a small bowl and add in some white miso. The miso I'm using has a more watery consistency, which is ready to use right away. If you have a thick paste type of miso, mix in a little honey or even some drinkable water to thin it out.

Line the pan with aluminum foil to prevent sticking or miso burning directly onto the pan if needed. Either way, brush some sesame oil to the surface you're working on, aluminum foil or directly on the pan.

Spread some miso to one side of the onigiri then transfer to the pan with miso side down. Use medium heat and sear till slightly browned and hardened. Meanwhile spread some more miso on top of the onigiri. 

Once the bottom side is ready, carefully flip the onigiri and continue to sear till the bottom turn slightly browned and hardened.  

Once done, move the onigiri to serving plate.

Don't worry if the miso doesn't get browned nicely or got stuck to the aluminum foil or pan. There's one way to save it. Spread a bit more miso to the onigiri and torch it instead. 

The torching method yields a flavor that is a bit different than searing, but still aromatic. Especially that slightly torched burnt aroma, smells quite appetizing to tell the truth. 

Other onigiri recipes:

• Egg scallion and shio kombu onigiri 蔥蛋塩昆布日式飯糰
• Tuna and sesame oil rice balls
• Hijiki and Inari age onigiri 羊栖菜豆皮飯糰

Egg Scallion and Shio Kombu Onigiri 蔥蛋塩昆布日式飯糰

Perhaps similar to a chicken wrap, onigiri is like Japanese's version of a quick simple meal or a snack on the go. However, fast and easy doesn't mean the onigiri must be boring and bland. Instead, we're going to use some of the super-matching ingredients to bring out that extra aroma, making some hella satisfying rice balls.

Egg scallion and shio kombu onigiri 蔥蛋塩昆布日式飯糰 - 

Ingredients (about 3 rice balls)?

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons shio kombu 塩昆布
• 1 1/2 cups cooked short grain white rice
• 1 big dried nori sheet
• 2 strings scallion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Some sesame oil
• Some salt

How?

Precook the rice. Once ready, fluff the rice and wait till some steam has been escaped. Oil a big mixing bowl to prevent sticking, I used sesame oil here.

Beat one egg with tiny pinch of salt. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and switch to medium heat.

Once warm enough, pour in the beaten egg and start scramble the eggs to smaller pieces. Scoop out to oiled big mixing bowl that we prepped earlier.

Destem and chop the scallion. Add that to the bowl too together with about 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice. Also add 2 tablespoons of shio kombu and 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Fluff while mixing these ingredients gently till evenly blended.

Trim the nori sheet to rectangular pieces, or you can use the snack-pack, the nori sheets inside usually come as rectangular shaped.

Divide the rice mixture to 2 or 3 equal portions. Roll and shape each portion to a ball. Remember to use some force so the rice can stick together, but not too hard and break the rice. Wrap the rice ball with nori sheet and serve immediately.

I had to take pictures, which takes time, otherwise it's best to enjoy the onigiri as soon as it's been wrapped with nori sheet. The nori sheet turns soft basically in the blink of an eye. But even with soggy nori sheet after some pictures, I still enjoyed this onigiri flavor combo, just love that salty touch from the shio kombu. 

Other onigiri recipes:

• Tuna and sesame oil rice balls
• Hijiki and inari age onigiri 羊栖菜豆皮飯糰

Tuna and Sesame Oil Rice Balls (Onigiri)

Do you carefully read the labels when doing grocery shopping? I do, and sometimes when not in a hurry, I tend to ready all the available products' labels before making a decision. You'll be surprised to see how many chemicals and additives are out there, even in a simple jar of jam or canned food.

And it is especially hard to find canned tuna without all the extras. That's why when I saw this Japanese brand canned tuna HAGOROMO with no weird ingredients listed, I quickly grabbed a set to test it out. And that's how this recipe was born. 

Tuna and sesame oil rice balls (onigiri) - 

Ingredients (about 3 medium or 2 big servings)?

• 1 rice measuring cup white rice or quinoa rice
• 1 small can/70 grams tuna
• 3 strings scallion
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

How?

Cook the rice like usual, but with a bit less water. Once ready, fluff the grains and let some steam escape first. When the temperature drops a little, scoop the rice to a big bowl that has been wiped with some sesame oil first to prevent sticking.

I actually added some quinoa to the rice. Not just for the color pop, but also for the extra nutrition.

Into the bowl, add in chopped scallion. You can simply use a scissor to cut the scallion, that way you don't have to wash any knives or cutting board for making this recipe. 

Add in drained tuna and toasted white sesame seeds. Also add some salt and 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil. Gently mix these ingredients with the rice till evenly dispersed. Taste and see if more salt is needed. The saltiness varies depending on the canned tuna you're using. I used a total of 1/2 teaspoon of salt here.

Sprinkle a few drops of drinkable water to your palms, rub your hands then start shaping the rice mixture to individual onigiri. The water here also help in preventing the ingredients stick onto your hands. But not too much, just a bit moisture goes a long way.

So how's the version of HAGOROMO canned tuna I got here? It even says on the can with big letter 純, meaning pure. Not bad actually, especially if you're looking for really fine and flaky texture with minimum flavoring. The taste is quite bland, but that's how I want it to me because I would like to be the one controlling the seasonings. 

However, if you're looking for something saltier or with bigger chunks, other varieties might be a better option. I believe HAGOROMO also offers mild, flake, and oiled kinds. But down the road, despite the purity of ingredients used, I think all canned tuna tastes pretty good, especially when mixed with other ingredients like the onigiri here, or salad and sandwich. 

Extended reading:

• Hijiki and inari age onigiri 羊栖菜豆皮飯糰

Hijiki and Inari Age Onigiri 羊栖菜豆皮飯糰

Hijiki is definitely one of the key ingredients here. However, I think inari age is equally important, or perhaps have an even bigger role in the make or break of this onigiri recipe.  

I could have used simple aburaage/fried tofu skin instead, but inari age, the "seasoned" fried tofu pouch was already flavored. Its sweet and savory seasonings add a ton of flavor boost to the onigiri. That's why I highly recommend you to use inari age if you can get a hold of it.

Hijiki and inari age onigiri 羊栖菜豆皮飯糰 - 

Ingredients (about 4 to 6 portions)?

• 1 to 1.5 rice-measuring cups short grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons dried hijiki
• 2 sheets inari age (seasoned fried tofu pouch)
• 150 grams chicken breast
• 1 small chunk carrot
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon double-condensed tsuyu

How?

Cook the rice with slightly lesser water than usual. Once done, fluff the rice and let them cool off before making into onigiri. You can use leftover rice that's been stored in the fridge too.

Soak the dried hijiki in cold water for 20 minutes. Once ready, drain and set aside. I've got before and after soaking pictures side by side so you can see how much the hijiki has puffed up afterwards.

Cut the chicken breast into short strips. Peel and julienne the carrot. Cut the inari age to strips.

Try to use the flavorful inari age, but if you can't find it, regular tofu skin will do, just remember to add about 1 extra teaspoon of sugar during the cooking process later on.

Take a non-stick pan, pour in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and turn to medium heat. Once the oil warms up, transfer the carrot over and stir-fry for about a minute, or till softened a bit.

Add the chicken and cook till the strips are separated from one another. 

Add in drained hijiki and inari age strips. Give it a quick mix and cook for another minute or so.

Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of tsuyu. Mix till evenly blended. Keep stir-frying the mixture till it dries up a little. Once ready, scoop out and transfer to a big mixing container.

Mix in room temperature rice, at least not steamy hot, fluff till evenly blended with the stir-fried ingredients. You might need to use more or less rice, I'll let you be the judge of it.

Lay out a sheet of cling foil in the center of the working surface. Scoop some rice mixture over and grab all four ends to tighten up the shape of the rice within. Try to press and shape the rice ball into triangular shaped onigiri. Remove the cling foil and set the onigiri to serving plate.

Repeat for the remaining rice. You might want to change the cling foil after one or two onigiri. It'll be easier to grab, tighten, and shape the rice it holds. 

Shaping the rice mixture into onigiri can be quite a challenge with unexperienced hands. Try a few more times, don't stress if onigiri falls apart, it still tastes good no matter the shape. 

However, don't give up too early. Based on my past experiences, the key of making onigiri for beginners is that you have to press even tighter, giving the rice much more force than you think. 

I know that on TV or videos these Japanese aunties can always make numbers of onigiri with ease. Their hand movements are so gentle and all the sudden a perfectly triangle-shaped onigiri popped up. Not for the novice hands. Aim for the rice that can stick onto one another without falling apart, and perhaps through time, we will become one of these expert aunties in the art of ideally pressed onigiri. 

Mini Meals On-the-Go, Salmon and Broad Beans Onigiri

When life gets hectic (like right now...), here's what you need. Or at least what I need.

Salmon and broad beans onigiri -

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 rice balls)?

• 1 rice cup uncooked short grain rice
• 1 cup cooked salmon (tear into smaller pieces)
• 3/4 cup broad beans
• Some dried nori/seaweed sheets
• Some olive oil
• Some salt
• Some pre-boiled water

How?

Cook the rice first.

Either use store-bought salmon flakes or start from scratch. If cooking the salmon from the beginning, season the fish with some salt on both sides. Let it marinate for about 5 to 10 minutes. 

Prepare a pan, nonstick preferable. Drizzle some olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Once the oil gets warm, transfer the salmon over and sear till colored on both sides, make sure the fish is fully cooked. Remove from heat and wait till it cools enough to handle by hand, then tear into smaller pieces.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch the broad beans. Remove that outer skin and set aside.

Mix the broad beans with salmon flakes and cooked rice. Taste and see if need to further season with additional salt.

Cut the nori sheet into suitable size, just big enough to wrap the rice balls.

Lay down a sheet of cling foil, scoop some rice mixture to the center and grab all four corners of the the foil, hold on tight to form a small ball.

Squeeze slightly, make sure the rice are sticking together and will not fall apart once removing the foil. Wrap with nori sheet and eat right away.

You can make it into triangular shaped too. Now, short break is over, it's time again to get back to that hectic life again. Vacation time needed seriously. 


Other salmon recipes:

• Sweet and sour salmon with colorful bell peppers
• Baked tarragon salmon fillets
• Japanese salmon stew
• Philadelphia roll with salmon, cream cheese, and avocado
• Steamed salmon fillets with Thai style dressing

A New Type of Japanese Rice Balls, Not Onigiri, but "Onigirazu" (おにぎらず)

Onigiri is the common Japanese rice ball formed by both hands, you can find more detailed descriptions from one of my old recipes here: Japanese onigiri two ways. 

"Onigirazu" on the other hand, is more like a rice sandwich. You make it by layering up ingredients on the cling foil then wrap everything by bringing all four foil corners together to tighten the ingredients. The encased rice ball will then cut in half, showing all the nicely layered ingredients just like a sandwich.

Still confused? Hope these step-by-step pictures will help a little.

Onigirazu two ways using Chinese ingredients -

Ingredients (1 to 2 portions)?

• 2 cups white rice
• 2 large dried seaweed sheets
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 1 Cheddar cheese square
• 1 Chinese fried flour stick
• Some Taiwanese dried radish and salted black beans stir fry
• Some fish floss
• Some kimchi

How?

Cook about 2 cups of white rice. The actual amount depends on the size of the dried seaweed sheets. 

Lay a sheet of cling foil on the surface and put one dried seaweed sheet in the center. Scoop some rice to the center. 

I used too much rice so it can get tricky when folding in the seaweed. First timers, try to start with smaller amount of rice at least for few rounds of practices, otherwise the onigirazu might explode when attempting to fold in the corners.. 

There are two flavors, one using fish floss and Chinese fried flour stick; the other one utilizing some kitchen leftover with additional lettuce and cheese. The pictures below use fish floss onigirazu as example. After laying and flattening out some rice, add a layer of fish floss, top with Chinese fried flour sticks then one more layer of fish floss again -

Finish with one more layer of white rice. The key here is try to start and finish with layers of rice.

Fold in all four seaweed sheet corners, making sure no ingredients are peeking through. You'll see why starting out with smaller amount of rice is a good idea. To me, folding in all the corners without the rice ball exploding is the hardest part. 

Bringing in all the cling foil corners and tighten them up so the seaweed rice ball stays firm and tidy -

Wait for five minutes before cutting.

Dip the knife in hot water and dry with a kitchen towel. Cut the onigirazu in half with cling foil attached. Once done, you can leave the foil to better hold up the shape or remove before serving.

Here're the layers for my second onigirazu, start from the bottom: 
Seaweed sheet, rice, ground pork stir fry, lettuce, kimchi, Cheddar cheese square, lettuce, ground pork stir fry, rice.

Sounds like a lot and it sure took me quite an effort to keep the rice ball from exploding. The final product was worth it though, packed with flavors, savory ground pork, spicy kimchi, creamy cheese, and all. 

Onigirazu is gaining its popularity recently especially it's easier to make compared to onigiri. As long as you get a hang of the portion that can withhold by the seaweed, you'll have even more fun trying to mix and match all sorts of ingredients. The best part follows after cutting the onigirazu in half, seeing all the work comes to life with these pretty and appetizing layers.

Stay tuned for more flavor varieties. You can also explore some other possibilities and create colorful layers by using carrot, cucumber, ham, corn, and more. Let you be the artist. 


Other bento recipes:

• Light meal recipe - Japanese corn and ham sandwich
• Japanese egg salad sandwich topped with smoked salmon (tamago sando)
• Panda rice balls with spicy and crunchy ground pork stir fry stuffing
• Japanese onigiri two ways - cream cheese mentaiko and stir fry shirasu
• Something for Halloween - Domokun bento

Panda Rice Balls with Spicy and Crunchy Ground Pork Stir Fry Stuffing

Don't be fooled by the cute appearance of these panda rice balls. Their inner souls (stuffing) might not be as innocent as they looked, which were made of ground pork, fried flour stick, and mouth burning ingredients like chili bean paste, Sriracha, and fresh chilies.

Ingredients (for 6 to 8 rice balls)?

• 2 cups of glutinous rice
• 1.5 lbs of ground pork
• 1 fried flour stick (老油條)
• 6 garlic cloves
• 4 red chilies
• 2 to 3 stalks of scallion
• 2 tablespoons of black bean soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of Sriracha
• 1 teaspoon of chili bean paste 辣豆瓣醬
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• Some olive oil
• Some dried seaweed/nori sheets

How?

Gently wash the glutinous rice and soak in water for 20 minutes. One ready, drain and pour in some more water till the rice just slightly submerged in the liquid. Steam in rice cooker and make sure to fluff out the rice once ready. If your rice cooker already has preset function for cooking glutinous rice, just prepare the rice according to your rice cooker's instruction.

The fried flour stick is a common traditional Chinese breakfast item. Some Chinese grocery store will have a breakfast section where you can buy freshly made fried flour stick. The one I'm using here is over-fried version, which is harder and crunchier than the regular kind. If this ingredient is unavailable, simply cook the stuffing without or substitute with plain croutons.

Crush the fried flour stick into smaller pieces by hand. It'll be hard to crumble the flour stick if it has turned soft due to moisture. In that case, heat it up in the oven for about 5 minutes beforehand. The flour stick should be very easy to break apart once dried enough. 

Discard the scallion stems and chop the remaining into smaller pieces. Discard the chili stems and finely chop the remaining. Peel and chop off the ends of garlic cloves then give them a fine chop. 

Drizzle some olive oil to the pan, just enough to evenly coat the bottom. Add in chopped garlic, chilies, and scallion. Turn to medium heat, also add a small pinch of salt and pepper to the mixture. Give it a quick stir. 

Cook till the garlicky aroma comes out and the garlic turns slightly browned, but not burned. Add in ground pork and mix together with the ingredients. Cook for about one minute.

Pour in the soy sauce along the side of the pan so the direct contact of heat will warm up the soy sauce and further heightened the aroma. Also add in the Sriracha sauce, black bean soy sauce, and some chili bean paste. 

Mix well and cook till no more liquid presents, turn off the heat. Lastly, mix in the fried flour stick crumbles. 

Lay a sheet of cling foil on your palm and scoop some rice over. Gently press down and spread the rice evenly to create a 1/3 inch layer. 

Add a spoonful of the stir fry stuffing in the center of the rice then top with a little more rice. Fold in the cling foil and shape the rice into semi oval shaped rice balls. The cling foil prevents the rice from sticking everywhere on your hands. 

Cut the nori sheet with a scissor, make one pair of eyes, one pair of ears, one nose, and one long strip of arms for each panda rice ball. Stick these nori shapes onto the rice balls while the rice balls are still hot, so the evaporated steam and moisture will help the nori stick onto the rice.

You can always change the stuffing into fish or pork floss, perhaps adding seared egg inside, much easier than cooking the stir fry ground pork from scratch. 

There are also nori cutters selling at the Japanese market or can be found easily online, which will definitely save a lot of work compared to cutting out the shapes with scissor and clumsy fingers.

Don't wanna use glutinous rice? Lettuce wrap will be another delicious and healthy option.

Japanese Onigiri Two Ways - Cream Cheese Mentaiko and Stir Fry Shirasu

Onigiri means rice balls, usually wrapped with a piece of nori, or dried seaweed. There are a wide variety of fillings that can be used with onigiri. The most simple and traditional options including umeboshi (picked plum) and salted salmon. However, a fancier or even fusion style onigiri is on the rise. Don't be surprised if you find snapper or even Mexican carnitas wrapped in steamed white rice.

As for my latest onigiri experiment searching for new flavors, here's two combinations that I enjoy the most, cream cheese mentaiko and stir fry shirasu -

Ingredients (for 8 onigiri)?

• 2 mentaiko roes
• Some steamed Japanese white rice
• 8 nori (rectangular shaped dried seaweed)
• Some sea salt
• Some cream cheese
• Some stir fry shirasu

*This is a very old recipe for stir fry shirasu, but for sure the flavor stands even years after!

How?

Carefully remove the membrane from the mentaiko. I simply cut a small opening towards the end and squeeze out the fish roe inside.

Mix the fish roe with some room temperature cream cheese, about 2 tablespoons. Use more if a creamier taste is desired.

To recap the recipe for stir fry shirasu, simply peel and finely chop some garlic cloves, finely chop a few red chilies and about one stalk of scallion. Drizzle just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add in the garlic, chilies, scallion, and cook till the aroma comes out.

Add in one small pack of shirasu and sprinkle with some salt to adjust the taste. Make sure to avoid using shirasu that has been dried completely otherwise the texture will be too tough for onigiri. The less dried and cooked version is white, instead of the dark grayish dried fish. However, when cooking this dish, make sure to sear the shirasu till almost dried out. The sides should appear slightly golden colored. That way the aroma gets locked inside the fish.

Cook the white rice as usual, use about 2 cups. You can even soak the rice for 15 minutes before cooking in the rice cooker in order to create an even sticker texture for onigiri. Wait till the rice cools down to the point where you can handle by hand.

Take half of the rice and mix in the stir fry shirasu. Prepare a small bowl of salt water, make sure to use the already boiled water. Slightly wet both hands with salt water, which will help to avoid having rice sticking on hands. Form the shirasu rice mixture into small balls and wrap each one with one piece of nori.

Try to serve the onigiri ASAP, otherwise the nori will absorb the moisture from the rice. It'll lose the crunchiness and begin to "wilt" like the one below -

To make the cream cheese mentaiko onigiri, take about half amount of rice for the onirigi in one hand, scoop some cream cheese mentaiko into the center, and take some more rice to cover the filling. Form the rice into triangle shaped onigiri, this might take some practice.

Wrap the onirigi with nori. I also added a small spoonful of the mentaiko mixture on top, looks more appetizing that way (or just my other excuse to have even more cream cheese mentaiko in one onigiri).

You can pack the onigiri inside lunch boxes. In fact, onigiri is one of the most popular lunch box items in Japan! Just make sure to pack the nori separately so everything stays nice and fresh.

Other recent rice recipes:

• Celery and pork pearl rice balls - 芹菜珍珠丸
• Grilled steak oyakodon style - 香煎牛排滑蛋飯

Salmon and Seaweed Onigiri - My Delicious First Try

I have a confession to make,

This post was supposed to be "pork slice wrapped enoki mushroom and ohba,"

But....I screwed that dish up...

In the beginning, everything looked so good in my head,

First, I'll lay out the thinly sliced pork on the working surface,
Gentally, I'll pick up a few enoki mushroom and ohba leaves and place them on top of the pork slices,

Then I'll dip those yummy looking rolls with flour, eggs, and then panko,
Heat up my skillet with some butter and olive oil,

Sear those soon to be eaten pork rolls, transfer to the oven for 10 or 20 more minutes,

In the meantime,

I'll grate the daikon (radish) and soak it with few dashes of ponzu sauce,
The final step,
I'll pour the sauce all over the cruchy yet juicy pork rolls....

BUT MY DREAM WAS SHATTERED INTO THOUSANDS OF TINY PIECES,

My grated daikon with ponzu sauce turned out a disaster,

It was bitter and spicy,

Only tastes a wee bit better than the powder inside your flu capsule.
Let's put it this way,

If you can compare food with movies,

It's like.....Mariah Carey's Glitter or Nicolas Cage's Wicker Man,

There were only two options left for me,

One, write about it and show you guys my disastrous dish on the blog,

Second, swallow my pain and make something else, something edible.

One way or another,
I decided to embrace my sorrow and made this onirigi (rice ball) today-

Again,

If you can compare food with movies,

This onirigi is like a good old Japanese film Tokyo Story,

Or Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki,

Ok maybe it's not THAT good, but for sure it's one tasty dish!

Ingredients (for 3 medium sized onigiri)?

1 cup of steamed rice

4 tablespoons of salmon flakes

(You can find it in Japanese market or just buy a salmon fillet and make it yourself)

2 tablespoons of dried seaweed

1 tablespoons of roasted sesame

Water

Sea salt

How?

We have to cook the rice first,

Use a little bit, only a little bit less amount of water while steaming the rice,

We want to have a chewier rice for our rice balls.

Another good alternative is to cook the rice with dashi,

It might sound like a lot of work,

But it'll definitely worth it once you have the very first bite of onigiri.

After the rice is ready,

Give it a nice stir so the steam can evaporate before we add other ingredients.

Stir in the salmon flakes, dried seaweed, and roasted sesame.

If you can't find salmon flakes,

Simply sprinkle some nice sea salt on the salmon flakes and bake it till cooked through,

Additional seasoning is optional,

I personally think good quality sea salt can do the job perfectly.

Please don't remove the skin while baking the salmon fillet,

Trust me, your salmon fillet will tastes way better that way.

Separate the fillet into little pieces with a fork, discard the skin.

Your instant salmon flake is ready to go!

Have a small bowl of water and a small plate of salt ready,

It's time to make the rice ball.

First dip your palms into the water, just a little bit is fine,

Then dip your palms with some sea salt,

You can rub your palms together to have a more even distribution of salt.

Now have a big palmful of onigiri mixture on your left hand and gently forming it into a ball shape with your right hand,

After the rice stop falling apart here and there,

Give it more pressure and gradually making the mixture into a triangle shaped rice ball.

The dish is done,

Very simple yeah?

I gonna bring some to work tomorrow,

Onirigi makes a perfect lunch for me,

It's also a nice alternative for picnic meals,

(Kick out those sandwiches, we want something new!)

I gonna come up with more onigiri recipe and post them up here for you guys!

Cindy's Rating: 8!! (Come on, it's not bad for a first try)