Crispy Grilled Japanese Rice Balls with Salmon • Yaki Onigiri

Every now and then I make simple onigiri, just perfectly seasoned Japanese rice with a bit of nori seaweed (or some furikake), it’s the simplicity that draws me in and it’s a super comforting snack for me. But this time I went for the more “elaborate” stuffed and the toasted version. This is a version of the classic onigiri that I kinda like a lot because it gives a bit more texture to the rice—it’s not just rice and filling.

I found salmon surimi/delicacies at the supermarket, and if you’re not familiar with these sea delicacies or imitation crab, they’re a Japanese invention made from a paste usually crafted with white fish. The idea came from a way to preserve fish paste, and today it’s used for all kinds of seafood products, because you have a fish paste that you can flavor and change the appearance at will—it’s cheap, relatively nutritional (depending on brands and types), and versatile.

In this case, I found these smoked salmon delicacies (which contain 30% white fish surimi and 12% smoked salmon), I had never seen them before, curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to make some yaki onigiri with salmon delicacies. Yaki onigiri is a variation of Japanese rice balls where you brush the outside with a sauce and toast them—that’s it. The sauces can vary from soy sauce, miso, teriyaki, etc. I went with simple soy sauce and only grilled two sides. I like it this way, but traditionally yaki onigiri are shaped more like a pyramid and grilled on all sides, often served without nori seaweed.

I can make onigiri in an instant with my eyes closed, the rice always comes out perfect because I have quite a bit of experience, but I’m marking this recipe as challenging because you need to experiment a few times and fail a few times until you can make them without problems. I tried salmon surimi, but you can use tuna or any kind of onigiri filling. Let’s get to the recipe!

Crispy Grilled Japanese Rice Balls with Salmon • Yaki Onigiri

Servings: 6
Time: 1hr 30mins
Difficulty: Hard
Rating: ★★★★★
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Oh oh when regular onigiri meets a hot skillet, magic happens.... crispy outside, fluffy inside, and pure comfort in a somewhat triangular form! Hehehe

Ingredients

Sushi Rice – 300g (short-grain Japanese rice)
Water – 330ml
Konbu – 1 piece the size of a postcard (optional)
Smoked Salmon Surimi – 80g
Mayonnaise – 1 tablespoon
Wasabi Paste – To Taste
Nori Seaweed – 1 Sheet (Optional)
Soy Sauce – +/- 2 Tablespoons
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Start by making the rice. First, wash the rice, usually about 6 or 7 times until the water runs clear, then drain the water and leave the rice in the colander for about 30 minutes to rest.
Then pour the rice into a pot with a pinch of salt (in Japan they don’t add any salt, but for onigiri and to my taste, I add half the salt I normally use for this amount of rice) in a pan, followed by the konbu seaweed on top and finally the water. Make a few cuts in the seaweed to release more of its aroma, cover the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes.
When it starts to boil, lower the heat and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes until tender. Never lift the lid of the pot (this is important).
After the 8 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and, still covered, let it rest for another 10 minutes.
And that’s it, the rice is ready. If you’ve burned the bottom a little (adjust the timing next time), don’t scrape it off. Transfer the rice to a large serving dish, stir it a little to make it fluffier, and let it cool it down. Onigiri are made with rice at room temperature, so cover the dish with a cloth until the rice has cooled.
Chop the salmon delicacies and add a little mayonnaise to create the filling. I tasted the delicacies, but as they are very well seasoned, it is not worth adding anything else to the filling (if I had some chives I might have add some diced thinly hehehe).
When the rice is ready to use, cut a square of cling film and place it in your hand. Put a portion of rice on top and use the cling film to shape it into a triangle with a hollow in the middle for the filling.

Add a little wasabi (I forgot to add it to mine). When I say a little, I mean a little, like a drop of wasabi on the rice. I usually put the wasabi on a small plate, crush it with my thumb, and make a small line on the rice. That’s the amount you want, followed by a small portion of the filling.
Cover with another portion of rice and, with the help of cling film, close and gently squeeze the rice to form a triangle, as you can see in the photos.
Repeat until you have no more rice.

Now put the soy sauce in a small bowl and brush both larger sides of each rice ball. Place in a frying pan over medium-low heat and let the rice toast. Turn, brush on a little more sauce, and turn again. Do this until the rice is golden brown and toasted, about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, then remove from the heat.
Finally, cut strips of nori seaweed, moisten the ends a little and stick them to each onigiri. This will enhance the flavor and texture and make each onigiri easier to pick up. That’s it! You can serve them warm from the frying pan or wrap them in cling film and store them in the refrigerator to eat the next day. Bon appétit!

Notes: The rice should be sticky enough to hold together, but not mushy. If your onigiri fall apart, you either added too much filling, the filling was too wet, or you didn’t press the rice firmly enough.

If you have a rice cooker, use the RICE COOKER! It’s amazing, I do have one, but for the site I tend to use as little gadgets as possible so as many people can follow any recipe.

Using plastic wrap instead of wet hands is faster and more practical, plus you can use the same wrap to store leftover onigiri in the fridge, also it’s what most Japanese do, only in restaurants or onigiri places they do it traditionally.

While this recipe uses salmon surimi, feel free to experiment with tuna, cooked salmon, pickled plum (umeboshi), or even cream cheese for a fusion twist.

Keep the heat at medium-low to avoid burning the outside before the inside warms through. The soy sauce creates a beautiful caramelized crust.

These keep well wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. They’re delicious cold, too!

While I prefer grilling just two faces, traditional yaki onigiri are more pyramid-shaped and grilled on all sides—feel free to experiment with both methods.

Unfortunately I didn’t save the nutritional information from the salmon surimi, so I used the same amount of plain surimi for the nutritional information below 🙂

This recipe for Crispy Grilled Japanese Rice Balls with Salmon • Yaki Onigiri was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Yaki Onigiri Bolas de Arroz Japonesas com Delicias de Salmão foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.