Onigiri (Stuffed Rice Shapes)

If you’re a fan of sushi then you’ll love Onigiri! These cute little stuffed rice balls are made using sushi rice, toasted nori sheets and furikake seasoning. We filled ours with sliced radish and garlic tofu, but you can stuff them with whatever you fancy. We also love adding tempeh, raw veggies, seaweed salad, umeboshi plums and many other lip-smacking combinations!

We bought an Onigiri rice mould online to make ours, but you can also use your hands to shape the rice instead if you prefer. You can make and serve these immediately – or they will keep for the next day too.

We’ve listed two ways to cook your sushi rice. We love using our instant pot/pressure cooker to make sushi rice as you can add, cook and leave to cool. But if you don’t have one, then the hob works just fine too.

Sushi Rice, Organic 500g (Clearspring)

1 cup of white sushi rice

Organic Toasted Sesame Oil 250ml (Clearspring)

2 tablespoons of Toasted Sesame oil plus extra for brushing the mould.

Organic Tofu Fillet with Wild Garlic 160g (Taifun)

2 fillets of Wild Garlic tofu

Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce 730ml (Flying Goose)

1 big squeeze of sriracha (adjust to your taste, use less or omit if you don't like chilli sauce).

Organic Garlic Granules 100g (Sussex Wholefoods)

1 teaspoon garlic granules

Chinese 5-Spice 50g (Hampshire Foods)

1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice

Clearspring Organic Brown Rice Vinegar 150ml

1 tablespoon Brown Rice Vinegar

Mikawa Mirin, Organic 150ml (Clearspring)

1 tablespoon of mikawa mirin

Organic Raw Cane Sugar 500g (Equal Exchange)

1 teaspoon of sugar

Fine Pink Himalayan Salt 1kg (Sussex Wholefoods)

A pinch of salt to taste

Toasted Nori Sheets (Clearspring)

1 sheet of toasted nori cut into strips

Other Ingredients

3 spring onions (chopped)
2 radishes (thinly sliced)
water to cook the rice

Method

Prepare your sushi rice:

Regardless of which method you use, you’ll need to wash your rice first. Rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Then cook in either your instant pot/pressure cooker or in a saucepan as directed below.

Instant pot/Pressure cooker method: Add your rice to the instant pot/pressure cooker. We used a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1.25 cups of water (190g of rice to 300ml water). Cook for 5 minutes on high pressure and then allow a natural release of pressure. Stir in 1 tablespoon of Mikawa mirin, 1 tablespoon of brown rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt. If you double the amount of rice used, double the amount of seasoning accordingly.

Hob method: Add 1 cup of rice to 1.25 cups of water (190g rice to 300ml water). Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and leave until cool.

Make your filling:

Heat a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil in a wok.
Add chopped spring onions, garlic granules, chopped tofu, Chinese five spice and Sriracha. Sauté until the onions have softened and the tofu is cooked through.
Leave aside to cool. In the meantime, cut your nori into small strips.

Shaping your Onigiri:

If using a mould, wipe a bit of sesame oil around so your onigiri are easily released.
Scoop a spoonful of rice into the mould so it’s half full. Gently press a small indentation into the middle of the rice. You don’t want to go all the way through – just make a small dent. This is where the filling will go.
We pressed a thin slice of radish into the middle, and then spooned a small amount (about 1 tsp) of filling on top of this. Don’t overfill it, or it’ll smush out of the front. Top the rest of the mould up with more sushi rice.
Sprinkle furikake seasoning on top and then press the lid of the mould onto this. Be fairly firm, as you want to compress the rice together to make a sturdy little rice shape.
Release the ball into your hand and wrap the nori strip around the bottom. Plate up and serve with soya sauce, wasabi, pickles or chilli sauce.