How to make easy stuffed onigiri
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Onigiri are delicious! If you’ve ever been to Japan and tried one from a 7/11 or a Lawsons, you will know how fantastic these little rice pockets are to eat as a snack on the go or as a lunchtime meal. They’re filling but still moreish, and once you’ve successfully made them the first time, you’ll want to keep making them all the time! This recipe is in no way authentic - it is a cheat’s onigiri that has been designed to be quick and easy when we want something a little different for lunch at work. They wrap well and travel well, and they are quick to make at home, too, when you are WFH.
If you’re interested in authentic, top-of-the-range, exceptional Onigiri, then the best we’ve ever had was from Onigiri Nitaya in Hiroshima. Their Onigiri were enormous and freshly made every day. Umeboshi Onigiri (with a plum stuffing) were particularly delicious.
How to use an Onigiri Mould
This recipe uses an onigiri mould to shape the rice around the fillings and press it into place. We then wrap a sheet of Nori around the bottom of the onigiri for taste and to hold onto without the rice collapsing. An onigiri mould may be new to you, and if so, we have a few tips and tricks and an explanation below:
What is an Onigiri Mould?
An onigiri mould is a small press or shape, normally made out of plastic, that you use to form the sushi rice around your onigiri filling. They come in a wide range of sizes and levels of quality, but if you are making them for the first time, then it’s best to try something simple and then work up to the fancier options. Our onigiri moulds are really basic, just the plastic top and bottom and a way to push the formed rice out.
A Basic Onigiri Mould
These are the simplest moulds to use. Simply pop the rice and fillings in and press. They’re cheap and cheerful - but they work!
Moulding and stuffing the rice
Sushi rice is sticky by nature, that’s why it’s so good for sushi and onigiri (duh!). If you’re using a mould, it’s almost guaranteed that the rice will get stuck to you, the mould and the rest of the ingredients. So we recommend:
Wet your hands before handling the rice, it will stop it from sticking to your thumbs, clothes, hair…
Oil the moulds with vegetable oil (just a small spray) before filling with rice and other goodies.
When you’ve pressed the mould down and sealed the rice, the oil will stop it from sticking and make it easy to remove.
The easiest way to cook sushi rice for onigiri
We love Onigiri for lunch, especially during a working week, making them our cheat’s way (see below) is so easy. Our trick is to make sure we cook the sushi in the morning in our rice cooker!
Instant Pot Rice Cooker for Sushi Rice
Simply wash the rice seven times so that the water goes from cloudy to clear, and then put it into the rice pot of your rice cooker. We use an Instant Pot rice cooker because it was significantly cheaper than many of its competitors, yet still comes packed with features such as slow cooker and steam settings.
As a general rule, you need 110% water compared to rice. So if you use 1 cup of rice in your rice pot, then you will need 1.1 cups of water to cook the rice in. Or if you want metric - if you put 100g of rice in the pot, you will need 110ml of water.
You can then leave your rice to cook on the timer (use the white rice setting on the Instant Pot). Once it’s ready, season it (see the recipe below) and then pop in the fridge to cool, ready to use at lunchtime. The whole task will take about 5 minutes of activity from you and 30 minutes cooking in the rice cooker.
We normally cook our rice at 10 am, then eat our onigiri at 12 pm! Easy.
Cook your sushi rice in a rice cooker
This is one of the most used pieces of equipment in our kitchen. We wouldn’t be without one. Find out more in our article comparing rice cookers, here.
How we make our cheat’s onigiri
Ingredients for onigiri:
1x cup of sushi rice per two people. You should use your rice cooker measuring cup if you have one.
Filling for the onigiri, this could be either:
Chicken nuggets from a freezer pack or
The snack packs of tempura prawns that you can find in the party food aisle in Tesco
Cucumber, diced finely
Kewpie Mayonnaise to taste
1x tbsp Rice wine vinegar
1x tsp sugar
1x tsp salt
One sheet of Nori seaweed, torn into rectangles (see photos)
Instructions for making cheat’s onigiri:
Measure out and wash the sushi rice at least seven times. The water should be clear when it’s ready to use. Place the sushi rice in either a saucepan or a rice cooker pot.
Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet, or place it in the rice cooker and cook on the white rice setting.
Once it’s cooked, season with the salt, sugar, and rice wine vinegar. Stir in the seasonings and then leave to cool or place in the fridge.
Wash the rice until it goes from cloudy water like this, to clear.
Once the rice has cooled and you’re ready to eat, start cooking the filling
If you are using prawns or chicken nuggets, then place them into an oven, or better yet, an air fryer and cook until piping hot
Get your food prep area ready by oiling your onigiri mould, having your nori sheets to hand and your chopped cucumber and mayo
Once the filling is cooked, chop it into bite-sized chunks
Squish sushi rice into the bottom of the onigiri mould so that the base is covered
Then add your filling and the Kewpie mayo
Cover the top with more rice, making sure the filling is pushed into the base and the rice covers down the sides of the mould. If you’re doing this by hand, then form a ball around the filling with the sushi rice before adding a point at each corner to make a triangle.
Place the bottom of the mould into the top and then squeeze down to form the onigiri
Push the rice out of the mould (much easier to do if you wet or oil the mould)
Wrap a rectangle of nori seaweed around the base of the onigiri
Repeat the process with the rest of the fillings - then stuff them in your mouth and enjoy!
Other recipes you may enjoy:
Turkey Laab - another super quick, super tasty recipe that could be a lunch or a dinner
Lion’s head meatballs - A really good way to use mince, this recipe makes an unusual and exciting dinner
Vietnamese Tofu Spring Rolls - delicious and quick, another way to make an unusual lunch
Frequently asked questions about onigiri:
What is an onigiri?
An onigiri is a rice ball from Japan, which is normally shaped into a triangle and wrapped in nori seaweed. It doesn’t always have a filling, but you will find them in convenience stores all over Japan (such as Lawsons or 7/11) and they will be filled with Tuna, Salmon or pickled plums called umeboshi. They make a filling, tasty and really quick lunch when you’re busy or you want something more exotic than sandwiches.
What does onigiri mean?
Literally translated, the word onigiri is derived from the Japanese word nigiru, meaning to squeeze or clutch. This is because the onigiri is squeezed around the filling either by hand or in a mould.
How do you make the onigiri shape by hand?
With damp, cold (clean) hands, pick up a handful of rice, flatten it on the palm of your hand and then make a small dimple in the centre for the filling.
Put the filling into the well or dimple and then fold the rice over to cover the filling and make a rough ball
To shape, press the rice into your palm and then squeeze a side flat with the fingers of your other hand. Rotate to the next side and repeat, before doing the same a third time. Keep squeezing and rotating until you have a firm triangle.
Wrap the nori sheet around one flat edge and serve.