December 2020

Onigiri - Japanese riceball

Onigiri is an ancient Japanese food that is wrapped in cooked rice.
It's similar to sushi, which you eat with ingredients on top of the rice you hold.
Most Onigiri is wrapped in seaweed. The seaweed it self has a high nutritional value, and it has the wisdom that rice grains cannot be picked up when held by hand.

Onigiri is often used as a bento dish and has been familiar to Japanese people for a long time.
There are many things that even Japanese people don't know because the food is so familiar.
Here, we will introduce various things about Onigiri.

Like western bread

Onigiri is the size of bread and is portable, so it is often included in lunch boxes.
Just as bread is the staple food in the West, many Asian regions eat rice as their staple food.
However, Onigiri is a food unique to us Japanese.
This is because the same Asian people eat different types of rice.
In Japan, we eat sticky rice, but in other Asian countries we eat crisp rice.
Rather, only Japanese people eat sticky rice (japonica rice).
With crisp rice (Indica rice), even if you try to make Onigiri, they will not harden well.
For that reason, Japanese people have a culture of holding rice, hardening it, and eating it.

What kind of ingredients should I wrap?

In the case of Onigiri that wrap the ingredients, they are generally made from white rice.
For this reason, many foods that go well with rice, such as those with a strong taste and those with a strong salty taste, are often used.
Specifically, kelp, salmon, pickled plums, etc.

Infinite variation

It is also many Onigiri that are made by seasoning rice instead of stuffing it with ingredients.
For example, it is onigiri that look gorgeous by mixing sprinkles, and onigiris made with fried rice or chicken rice.
There is no set seasoning, so you can make various variations of onigiri by holding various types of rice.

Why is onigiri triangular?

In Japan, the shape of a triangle is likened to a mountain shape.
In ancient Japan, it is said that a god dwells in the mountains, and it is said that it was shaped like a sacred triangle to offer to God.

Why is modern onigiri also triangular?

In the old days, there were many round-shaped Onigiri.
However, most of them are triangular these days.
There are various reasons,
・ Easy to hold and eat
・ Easy to line up on display at stores (rolls when round)
There seems to be a reason.