Yaki Onigiri is a Japanese grilled rice ball flavored with soy sauce. Outside is so crispy and inside is soft and warm. This is a quick dish so when you are hungry and there is no time, I strongly recommend!
Soy sauce and sesame flavor and grilled until it gets nicely brown, this yaki onigiri is a simple but classic Japanese rice ball dish. When kids are hungry, parents make this rice ball so often because it is super easy to make and it is a beloved comfort food in Japan.
What is Yaki Onigiri?
Yaki Onigiri is a type of rice ball that is grilled. “Yaki” means grilled and “Onigiri” means rice ball. They are coated with soy sauce and grilled in a pan. My mom used to cook these for my siblings and I for lunch or after school when we were a little hungry. Some people love to bring them as lunch for school or work because they are so easy to make and eat as well!
Q&A : What ingredients do I need?
There are a huge variety of customized Yaki Onigiri recipes. In my recipe, there are 6 ingredients to make the best Yaki Onigiri.
Ingredients for Yaki Onigiri
I will explain how to make in more detail in the recipe below but basically just mix everything, form the rice balls, and grill 🙂
Q&A : How can I store?
When you store Yaki Onigiri, use cling wrap and wrap individually and tightly. Then put them into a Ziploc bag and store in the freezer. When you want to eat, you can either cook them again or use the microwave to defrost!
I recommend you eat them within one month after freezing.
Q&A : How to make Onigiri in a triangle shape?
First you should make your hands wet to keep the rice from sticking to your hands. Take the rice in your hands, then keep one hand flat and bend your other hand in the shape of a mountain. You shape the onigiri by pressing the rice against your flat hand using your bent hand and turning the onigiri until you have a triangle that holds its shape.
This can be difficult if it’s your first time but when you get used to it, it is so fun and fast to make Onigiri.
*I usually use cling wrap to shape my rice balls into a triangle but to make it clear in the video, I use just bare hands. I recommend you use cling wrap because it gets sticky and difficult to make rice balls beautifully.
How to Shape Yaki Onigiri
But you don’t need to make it a triangle. If you have a hard time making a triangle shape, a lot of people also make round onigiri and that’s also ok! The most important part is to have two flat sides where you coat the sauce and grill.
Q&A : How and what to serve with?
Yaki Onigiri is good by itself. As I mentioned, my mom used to prepare some ahead of time and leave them for us kids to eat by ourselves for lunch or after school. But if you wanna eat it with something, here are a few recommendations!
Similar Recipes to Yaki Onigiri on Oishi Book
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Yaki Onigiri
Ingredients
Instructions
Preparation
- Cook rice first. HERE is how to make rice.
- If you want to remove the mirin's alcohol, use a double serving of mirin, add it to a pot, and turn the heat to medium.When the mirin starts boiling, boil for 30 seconds at least and turn the heat off. Afterwards, you will have the correct amount of mirin for the recipe.
Let's cook!
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Mix dashi powder, mirin, sesame oil, soy sauce, and white sesame seeds in a bowl.
- Add the mixture to the warm rice. Mix everything evenly.
- Divide into four equal sections.
- Prepare a cling wrap and add the mixture onto it. Then make it triangle or circle whichever you want, but make sure it should be flat on two sides.
- In a large flat pan, add a piece of parchment paper and turn the heat to medium-low.
- When the pan starts to get warm, add the rice balls (the maximum is 4).
- Turn the heat to low and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until the surface gets brown.
- After both sides of onigiri are cooked, turn the heat off!
- Let's serve! Yaki Onigiri is good by itself.
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