Simple Vegetable Onigiri
Handmade Japanese rice balls filled with pickled plum and cucumber. A portable, satisfying lunch that takes just 20 minutes and requires only a rice cooker and your hands.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 156
- Protein
- 3g
Ingredients
- 3 cups short-grain sushi rice, cooked and still warm
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 4 pieces umeboshi (pickled plums), pitted
- 1 whole cucumber, peeled
- 2 sheets nori (seaweed sheets)
- ½ cup water for shaping hands
Instructions
- 1
Place the warm cooked rice in a large bowl and sprinkle 1.5 teaspoons of salt over it. Using a rice paddle or wooden spoon, gently fold the salt throughout the rice until evenly distributed, about 30 seconds. Taste a grain; it should taste lightly salted like a grain of chips.
- 2
Place the cucumber on a cutting board lengthwise (from tip to root). Slice it in half along that length. Stand each half flat-side-down and slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks—like cutting a carrot stick thinner.
- 3
Lay the 2 nori sheets on a clean, dry cutting board. Using kitchen scissors, cut each sheet in half to create 4 strips, each roughly 3 inches wide and 7 inches long.
- 4
Fill a small bowl with the 0.5 cup of water. Dip your hand into the water and shake off excess—your hand should be wet but not dripping. This prevents rice from sticking to your skin.
- 5
Scoop roughly 0.75 cup of warm rice into the palm of your wet hand, forming a loose mound. Make a deep thumbprint indent in the center by pressing your thumb straight down into the rice, about 1 inch deep.
- 6
Place 1 pickled plum into the indent, followed by 3 or 4 cucumber matchsticks. Fold the rice around the filling by pressing gently from all sides until the filling is completely enclosed and the rice feels compact, about 15 seconds.
- 7
Place the filled rice in your wet hand and gently shape it by tilting your hand and rotating the ball so each side touches your palm evenly, creating a smooth triangle or oval. Do not squeeze hard—just guide the shape.
- 8
Set the shaped onigiri on a plate, then wrap one of the nori strips around the bottom third as a band, shiny side facing out. Press gently to secure. Repeat steps 4–8 with the remaining rice and filling to make 4 onigiri total.
Tools you’ll need
- large mixing bowl
- rice paddle or wooden spoon
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- kitchen scissors
- small bowl
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