Onigiri

ASSALAMUALAIKUM

I really like Japan and their cultures. Since I was a child I like to watch anime. Their food shown in the anime look appetising. So, I take a liken to their food just by watching the anime.  Besides, my mother often went to Aeon that sell Japanese food and there are sold onigiri that I like. I always ask my mum to buy the onigiri when she was there. For many years, I have been interested in making the Japanese food which is also nutritious. However, I learned that some of their food are not easy to cook. So, I want to learn make onigiri by myself. As I am an IB student, I need to do a Personal Project. From this, I get an opportunity to try making the onigiri by this Personal Project. So, this site are created as a media to present my product and to show my passion towards onigiri. I also want to share my interest with everyone. All of the content is about the process I'm making the onigiri. I hope you will enjoy it. 

   

What is Onigiri?

Onigiri and also known as omusubi are m B by tyhj1ade from white rice formed into triangles or cylinders which is very common food and snacks in Japan. Onigiri have a long history; hard clumps of steamed rice, thought to be primitive versions of onigiri that have been discovered at ruins dated from the 1st century. Since then, rice balls have been used as rations for soldiers and portable meals for travelers. They are still indispensable to the Japanese dining table as meals for people on the go, as light snacks or as food for picnics.

How to make that shape?

The basic of how to make onigiri are simple. Take freshly-cooked rice and mold it with both hands into your desired shape while it still warm, then all you have to do is insert a filling. Wet your hands slightly and sprinkle your palms with a little salts each time you mold an onigiri. People mold onigiri into triangles, balls or barrel shapes.

These days,  there are even onigiri shaped like stars or hearts. in recent years, a new style has become popular, known as 'onigirazu', which can be completed by just wrapping the rice and its filling in nori seaweed without molding it. There are also a mould for the onigiri that people can easily shape the rice. It is more easy than mold by your hands.

For making this onigiri, I decide to make this onigiri by using traditional method which is by hands. It may be quite hard to make but it may be challenging for me.

Ingredients

per onigiri rice ball : 

3 cup of cooked japanese rice, 1/4 sheet taokaenoi (seaweed), pinch of salts, shiso perilla leaf (optional), sesame seeds (optional)

possible fillings : 

cooked chicken, cooked salmon, tuna 

In the making of onigiri

1. First, rinse the Japanese rice then cooked it until warm.

2.  While waiting for the rice, I cook some sardines for the fillings. I choose .sardines because it rarely use for the fillings. Normally people will use tuna mayo. So, I try to make some differences which is fillings that Malay people can easily get or make.

3. Then, wet the hands a little and mold the rice into triangle shape.

4. Put some fillings into the onigiri. Then, mold the rice to cover the fillings from leaking.

5. The rice will come out like this then it has become like the onigiri that I want.

As I have done this onigiri, I think it is actually easy to make if you know exactly the right method to do it. The outcome of the onigiri is paid off as the onigiri I make have give the right result as I want. For me, the price of the onigiri that have been sold at the supermarket is reasonable and affordable. There even many fillings that people can get at supermarket such as chicken floss and octopus. But the onigiri will taste better if you eat the one you make which is your own effort.

This is my onigiri for my first attempt. It is quite slimy which is hard to mold and to make the shape.  As my onigiri did not give a good result, I try to ask some tips from the expert which is a Japanese people who own an onigiri shop called Jichan's Japanese Rice Ball Shop. I ask him by social media which is instagram. I did not expect that he will answer my questions. But with his help, my onigiri did not turn out awful for the second attempt. I really thankful for his help.

This is the evidence that I ask for advice from Japanese people.

Here is my picture with my onigiri.