Onigiri

Rice balls, or onigiri, are a staple in Japan.  The most basic versions are just rice pressed into a ball or triangle shape.  The type of rice can vary - white, brown, mixed with seasonings.  Sometimes they are filled with marinated seaweed, fish, ume (pickled plum - a common flavor here), or a variety of other healthy ingredients.  Typically they are wrapped in seaweed or left plain.  But you can also find them with sesame seeds on the outside. 

Photo credit: http://jpninfo.com/19501

Photo credit: http://jpninfo.com/19501

They can be found in every convenience store and even fancy shops have them with designer rice and fillings.  The onigiri from convenience stores come in a special plastic wrap that puts a barrier between the rice and the seaweed, so the seaweed doesn't get soggy.  Just pull the little tab and the plastic can be pulled away easily.

Photo credit: https://www.cuisine-japon.fr/onigiri/

Onigiri are the Japanese version of peanut butter and jelly.  Every time my son is invited to do an activity, the organizer tells me to bring onigiri for him.  Even at our Thursday Piyo Piyo stone soup lunch, we are told to bring onigiri.  Today I made rice balls with tunafish inside and sesame seeds on the outside.  You have to make the balls when the rice is hot.  Even though you put water on your hands to prevent the rice from sticking to you, you get burned by the hot rice.  I'm guessing after you make enough of them your hands get used to the heat. 

Once again, this is something that my husband has always been "in charge" of, but I've now taken over.  I'd say the biggest difference in our onigiri is my husband's balls are consistent in size and shape, while I'm working on being more uniform. 

They are a pretty handy quick lunch or snack.  And my son loves them!  We joke that we know he is Japanese because he loves them so much.

Today's onigiri was nicely shaped and tasty.  However, I didn't have any sheets of seaweed, and it was super sticky (which is important so your ball will stick together).  So, it was probably the messiest rice ball I've ever encountered.  Live and learn.