Onigiri

[Sunni]

I just can't seem to make my onigiri taste good.. i have to use jasmin or basmati rice since i cant get a hold of any other typers of rice other that sushi rice(too expensive D
i Dont have nori either yet, so im making them without nori, but the next time ill buy some nori.

Do you guys have any ideas? is it possible to use soyasaus on the onigiri

And by the way, how does nori taste?, sweet/ sour/ salty/ bitter?

can i use smoked salmon inside onigiri og egg?

Also do you have an onigiri recipie that only makes one onigiri or two small ones? (i have small hands)

Do you guys know of anything that makes the rice stickier?



I'm what people would call an Onigiri amateur

[trunker]

have you tried looking for australian or american sun white calrose rice?

its as close to japanese rice without being japanese, and its pretty cheap. basmati and jasmine just arent sticky enough. and they have a different flavour.

Calrose rice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

if you cant find that, try a rice for dessert, like rice pudding. or basically a really round kind of rice. basmatti and jasmine are longer. stay away from uncle ben rice, thats stuff is just odd, although it does have its moments.

and you dont really need nori, which tastes like salty crispy paper. haha thats the best descrption i can give.

when you get the right rice then alot of the flavour comes from the rice and the salt that you use.

you wet your left hand so the rice doesnt stick. then you pour some salt on your palm and fingers,.... the same amount as you would put on the rice if you were only eating the rice, not too much, but as much as you like.

you can use regular table salt or if you have something fancier then that would taste better.

theres no real set size, and you make the size that your hands are, so if you have small hands make small ones, whatever size is comfortable for you to make. i have found that trying to make smaller or bigger onigiri than you are comfortable with can be quite hard, especially getting the triangle shape.

here in japan i've eaten tiny ones that have been grilled for a bit, and i've eaten humongous ones from hokkaido that would fill a big donburi bowl, so whatever size you like is fine.

and you can put whatever you want in,..... smoked salmon is good, i've had that before, but since youre in norway, dont you have a norwegian sashimi dish? with lemons or something? try that.

chicken mayo is pretty good too, as weird as it sounds. i havent tried other meats though.

because of the salt onthe outside we dont normally eat it with soyu. also sometimes the stuff inside like the pickles and salmon will already have a bit of soyu or salt put on them.

i make onigiri for lunch every couple of days, and theyre getting to be my favourite lunch. beats a sandwich to hell :P

[TalnSG]

Originally Posted by Sunni

I just can't seem to make my onigiri taste good.. i have to use jasmin or basmati rice since i cant get a hold of any other typers of rice other that sushi rice(too expensive D
i Dont have nori either yet, so im making them without nori, but the next time ill buy some nori.

Do you guys have any ideas? is it possible to use soyasaus on the onigiri

And by the way, how does nori taste?, sweet/ sour/ salty/ bitter?

can i use smoked salmon inside onigiri og egg?

Also do you have an onigiri recipie that only makes one onigiri or two small ones? (i have small hands)

Do you guys know of anything that makes the rice stickier?



I'm what people would call an Onigiri amateur

Along with Trunker's notes, yes, smoked slamon and/or egg can be used.
As a last resort, if you are using jasmine or basmatti rice, add more water during the cooking and overcook it a little so the starch sticks it together more, but not until it is mushy. Its hard to guess perfectly, but it can be done. That will at least get the onigiri to hold its shape once the rice is cooled.

[TalnSG]

I did some searching, but it seems various sources for seaweed and similar plants in your area are process into suppliments rather than available as a comestible.

As for fillings, a few other things came to mind. Pickled herring (not with the tomatoes), mackeral and anchovies would all be suitable. Instead of the nori, maybe a cooked cabbage leaf would be a good compliment to the filling. Red cabbage would be quite decorative, if the filling went with the sweet & sour taste.

Of course your available horseradish is what most of the world uses in place of wasabi, so that flavoring will be very traditional.

[Sunni]

Thanks for the help, it's really appreciated , but i do have wasabi paste available at one of the malls, but i have a question thats not about onigiri if anyone can help me with it, i can't find mirin ANYWHERE, so meals that involve mirin is impossible to make for me, i've made one dish with white wine and sugar, i could eat it but it's not something i would say is my favorite atleast.

Also i dont know what Calrose is called in norwegian, so it will be impossible for me to get it..

[trunker]

for mirin, you can try mixing white wine and 7-up. it did the trick before when we couldnt find mirin outside japan. doesnt work for every dish of course.

ask your supermarket people, they should be able to get some in, or if you have like a oriental supermarket they can probably order some for you.

[Seanus]

It's worthwhile buying rice which is gonna be nechi-nechi (klejący, sticky). Blue Dragon make a very good sushi rice. Also, vinegar is worthwhile buying. I could ask my fiancee as she makes sushi nice and sticky, onigiri too. We put salmon in but onigiri are remarkably versatile, you can throw almost anything in.

[komitsuki]

For onigiri, have you tried semi-dry the (vinegared) rice by, suddenly cooled or not?

I prefer my onigiri with sesame oil. It's not really an authentic Japanese touch; more like Korean touch.

Originally Posted by trunker

calrose rice?

its as close to japanese rice without being japanese, and its pretty cheap. basmati and jasmine just arent sticky enough. and they have a different flavour.

Calrose rice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Calrose rice tastes weak. This is why I have to skip rice for nice wheat flatbread.

[trunker]

it does, but stickyness-wise its the closest thing you can get without shelling out a stupid amount of money outside japan. i mean inthe middle east, where i used to live, 2.5kgs of japanese rice would cost more than 20kgs of sunwhite calrose from australia.

but you are right komitsuki, with the exception of basmati, i have never oooh-ed and aaahhh-ed over rice like i have here.

what about rissotto rice? would that work i wonder. it should be easier to get.

[Sunni]

I've bought some risotto rice for some onigiri making tomorrow, im trying to convince my familly to like onigiri, though it'll be hard i guess