15 Onigiri Recipes (+ Best Japanese Rice Ball Fillings)

Strive these onigiri recipes for a real style of Japan!

In Japan, onigiri is a well-liked snack in comfort shops and bento containers.

Consider onigiri as Japan’s tackle the sandwich. Not solely are they scrumptious and surprisingly filling, however they’re a lot enjoyable to make!

Traditional onigiri incorporates salty and savory fillings wrapped with a sheet of nori for simple dealing with.

They’re oh-so-pretty and help you get inventive with fillings. 

Take a look at these easy and satisfying onigiri recipes under to stuff inside your bento field. 

Whereas many onigiri recipes require a visit to the Asian market, these spicy tuna rolls don’t require hard-to-find substances.

It pairs sushi-grade rice and nori with a can of tuna and spicy seasoning. That’s it!

Making the filling is simpler than making tuna salad. It earns a meaty taste from tuna and a spicy kick from somewhat (or rather a lot) of sriracha. 

To get fancy, coat your white rice balls with black sesame seeds that pop!

In case you have ever made dashi for ramen, there’s doubtless a container of kombu in your pantry someplace.

Kombu is dried sea kelp and has an identical ocean-like taste to nori. 

What makes kombu completely different from nori is that it’s thicker and has a stricter texture that’s virtually meaty.

The flavors are wonderful when paired with candy and salty seasoning like soy sauce, mirin, and sake. 

Kombu Tsukudani is a superb vegan possibility that also imparts fishy flavors with out the fish. 

I’ve tried and failed, on many events, stuffing onigiri.

It’s more durable than you suppose! These plum rice balls are a must-try if tedious stuffing isn’t your factor. 

This recipe incorporates pickled ume plums which might be extremely salty!

A bit goes a great distance on this dish.

In case you have a salt tooth (like me!), the distinctive salty flavors of ume plums are the proper pairing with sticky rice. 

Plus, there’s no have to stuff them! Stir the plum combination and rice collectively, and the crimson dots supply a shocking completed product. 

What I like most about these charred corn onigiri is that they’re easy and filled with a lot taste.

Charring corn gives candy umami flavors that pair completely with steamed rice. 

Plus, there’s no want for stuffing! The charred corn mixes immediately into the steamed sticky rice.

You’ll be able to choose to wrap it in a sheet of nori or skip that step. 

These charred corn onigiris are value testing in case you aren’t a fan of fishy flavors. 

Hen katsu interprets to breaded rooster cutlets.

Whereas most onigiri makes an ideal snack, these hearty onigirazu work as a complete meal. 

Consider this recipe as a Japanese sandwich.

It pairs shredded cabbage with a wonderfully tender rooster katsu cutlet and wraps it in a mattress of sticky rice.

It’s tedious however nicely well worth the closing consequence. 

As soon as wrapped in a sheet of nori, it’s the last word deal with to take with you on the go!

For those who love salmon sushi, you’ll love this scrumptious salmon onigiri! Don’t fear, you don’t want sushi-grade salmon.

Because it makes use of cooked salmon, any store-bought salmon fillet will do. 

What’s nice about this tremendous easy recipe is that every one substances shine independently.

Stuff perfectly-cooked, sushi-grade rice with tender flakes of salmon, and pair it together with your favourite onigiri fixings. 

That’s it!

Are you scrolling furiously, in search of cheese? Look no additional!

These grilled yaki onigiris are tacky, grilled, and soften in your mouth. 

This recipe makes use of Japanese 6P cheese, which is perhaps exhausting to seek out.

For those who can’t get your fingers on it, go for a salty semi-hard substitute like Gouda, Parmesan, or cheddar. 

Grilling them to perfection on the range creates a crunchy exterior with gooey insides. Is your mouth watering but?

These kimchi cheese rice balls have somewhat little bit of every little thing. They’re spicy, tacky, crunchy, gooey, and barely candy.

It’s the proper snack that’s surprisingly filling. 

Kimchi is one in all my favourite issues so as to add to rice as a result of it packs somewhat warmth with pleasant bitter and savory notes.

When mixed with cheese, the flavors are out of this world. 

Plus, because it doesn’t incorporate substances like nori, it’s the proper possibility for individuals who aren’t followers of fishy flavors. 

Mentaiko is marinated cod roe or pollock with a delicate taste that isn’t overpowering.

Mentaiko mayo is wealthy and flavorful, and it pairs completely with rice. 

They’re calmly grilled on the stovetop to create a crunchy outdoors with a young inside that melts in your mouth. 

Make an enormous batch, and retailer them within the fridge if you want a fast lunch or a tasty midnight snack. 

I like miso. It’s shiny and salty with only a contact of sweetness.

These miso-grilled onigiri balls are crunchy and candy on the skin, with tender, savory umami flavors on the within. 

Nevertheless it doesn’t cease there. 

For Ochazuke type onigiri, our green tea excessive of your rice balls simply earlier than serving.

It offers terrific earthy flavors that work so nicely with candy miso flavors. 

This karashi mentaiko onigiri recipe is easy. It doesn’t require many substances, and it’s simple to whip collectively in a flash. 

The trick to this tasty recipe lies within the karashi mentaiko.

Karashi mentaiko is a spicy salted cod or pollock roe that packs a flavorful punch. 

It’s a bit tedious wrapping all these rice balls, but it surely’s value the additional effort. 

What I like about Okaka onigiri is that it boasts daring, smoky flavors with out the necessity for meat.

Bonito flakes are dried fish grated into skinny flakes and pack a robust smoky and salty punch. 

When seasoned with soy sauce provides a contact of sweetness to those and helps the bonito flakes’ smokey flavors shine. 

Plus, there’s no have to stuff these balls. They’re smokey, salty, candy, and one hundred pc addictive. 

Tempura shrimp inside a rice ball? Sure, please!

Serving crispy tempura shrimp inside tender rice doesn’t sound like it really works, but it surely does!

The shrimp flavors with the crunchy tempura batter wrapped round seasoned rice are one thing out of a dream.

Critically, these shrimp tempura rice balls are addictive. 

Whereas seafood usually performs a central function in onigiri, rooster works simply as nicely. 

The very best a part of this recipe is that every one the elements combine in a single bowl, so there’s no want for tedious stuffing. 

They infuse shiny Japanese flavors from minced rooster, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake. 

Wrap them in nori for added umami flavors, or omit the nori in case you don’t take care of fishy flavors. 

Sure, I’m speaking about Spam, the American canned lunch meat.

Even when Spam isn’t precisely your factor, this recipe provides this drained lunch meat new life.

The salty and meaty flavors of Spam pair so completely with a tender egg (with a runny yolk!) wrapped round tender rice. 

Even if you’re a Spam-skeptic, this scrumptious dish is value a attempt!