Archive for the 'Food' Category

It makes me happy that several people have tried to make onigirazu since my entry on it and have been enjoying the results 😀 I’m still making them as well! I thought it’d be helpful to have a follow-up entry on things I’ve learned since then and the fillings I’ve tried.

First, I’ve found that the rice in onigirazu has been drying out when I store them already cut in half. Onigirazu is easier to eat when it’s halved, and while it’s probably ideal to cut it right before you eat it, it’s not practical if you’re bringing it to work like I do.

So, my new solution is to cut them in half, but then wrap them back together again. Think of it like a saran wrap bandage 😉 This has helped a lot in keeping the moisture in. Even though I was using sealed tupperware before, the rice still dried up if I didn’t have saran wrap around the open area.

Second, I actually think onigirazu are better the next day! I normally make a few at a time, and then bring them into work the next few days. One time, I ate an onigirazu shortly after I made it, and it was harder to eat! The seaweed was harder to bite through, and the rice was still loose. When I wait until the next day to eat them, they seem to stay together better and the seaweed is softer.

Now for the fillings I’ve tried!

Tilapia (Fish)

If you’re not sure what to do with left overs, consider putting them in an onigirazu! Sometimes I spoil my turtles with fresh, raw tilapia, and as much as they’d love to eat the full fillet, it’s way too much food for them. (I am a responsible turtle mommy after all.) I had a half fillet left over, so I seasoned it, baked it, and then put it into an onigirazu with lettuce. Simple and easy!

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I recently discovered onigirazu and have been making it lately! It’s a play on the Japanese rice ball, onigiri and is actually an old fad that has become popular again. It looks kind of like a flattened sushi roll and has a similar idea to an onigiri: it’s some sort of filling inside salted sushi rice.

There’s two main reasons why I prefer the onigirazu now:

1. Easier and less messy to make! With onigiri, you typically use your hands to mold the rice ball. With onigirazu, you just layer the ingredients inside of the seaweed.
2. More filling! If you stuff too much filling inside of an onigiri, it’s hard to put together and can fall apart. Because onigirazu is larger and is held together with a seaweed wrap, it can hold much more inside.

I like packing it as a lunch to bring to work, and it’s pretty filling too. Even though I’ve been making two at a time, I actually start getting full after the first one. (I’m making less next time…) It’s also nice that it’s flexible because it’s simply seaweed, sushi rice, and then a filling of your choice.

I’m going to show how to make it!

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