Mini-Onigiri with Hint of Lemon

Onigiri are a traditional and delicious Japanese snack consisting of a ball of sticky rice, handrolled around a salty or sour filling, and then wrapped in a thin layer of crisp seaweed. Today I was craving the basic idea of Onigiri, especially the delightful texture, but I didn't have Japanese rice, any of the traditional fillings, good quality Onigiri seaweed, or the dedication to do things 'exactly right'. So, I played around and invented these Mini-Onigiri with a Hint of Lemon.

I found them delicious, and shared them with some friends. They were extremely apprehensive at first - I think it was their first time eating seaweed. But they were all amazed by how much they enjoyed it, and kept asking me if there was some sort of sauce in it. Nope! Just yummy sticky rice. (and a hint of lemon)

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This is what you need:

1 cup uncooked calrose rice (or Japanese rice. Just make sure it can get good and sticky)
1 teaspoon-tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of salt
A bit of lemon (I cut four very thin slices from a real lemon. Just lemon juice or peel would be okay I'm sure - add to taste)
Some seaweed (the low quality, sesame oil covered, snack variety works fine. Just make sure it comes in at least small flat sheets, so you can use it to wrap the rice)

A Rice Cooker (or you can try cooking the rice in a pot. You're on your own)


First, you'll need to cook the rice. If you're confident in your own sticky-rice-cooking skills, feel free to skip this section - but do add the oil, salt, and lemon whenever you feel is appropriate. Otherwise stay with me. Heat the oil in your rice cooker. Add the uncooked rice and stir until the hot oil is coating each grain. Let cook like this for a minute or two.

Add the water and the salt. Stir. Turn the rice cooker to the warm setting and let sit for a few minutes, if you like to soak your rice. I did, the first time I made this recipe. After that, turn the rice cooker on and let it cook.

Most rice cooker turn themselves to the warm setting when the rice is finished. When the rice is almost finished, (there's still a bit of liquid and a lot of steaming), add the lemon. You don't have to stir it in or anything, (in fact, don't, unless you just put in peel or something else you can take out before eating) just leave it on top of the rice and shut the lid. The aroma and taste of the lemon will permeate the rice nicely.

When you're finished, let the rice cool until you can handle it easily with your bare hands. Then, take a bit (about a handful), and press it between your hands. It should hold shapes relatively easily, since it's sticky rice. Make a circle - oval -triangle - whatever, then take a strip of seaweed and fold it over the outside of your riceball. You don't need to fully wrap the onigiri, so that no rice shows, although you can if you want. Normally I just wrap a square of seaweed around one edge, so I can hold it and get a bit of salty crunch. Repeat until you've used up all your rice and seaweed, and you should have a lovely place of rice balls.

Wash your hands, since they'll be sticky. Onigiri are finger food, and you're supposed to hold them with the seaweed wrapper. Enjoy!!! ^^