Yaki Onigiri

We had a quiet Sunday night, snuggled in on the couch with a friend to watch Game of Thrones, only to discover that our PVR hates us and had decided not to record the show. It was all good though, we watched tv, hung out on Pinterest, checked out the Ikea PS collection for 2012 and fell in love with a few things. Best part of all was the dinner. We had homemade Yaki Onigiri, sesame green beans and sesame corn on the cob.

I'd never made Yaki Onigiri before and somehow thought it would be complicated. It isn't, and it's delicious! Japanese sushi rice, cooked, plain or seasoned and the formed into balls, squares, triangles and pan fried until the outsides are crispy and the insides stay creamy.

Yaki Onigiri 

Makes 6-8 onigiri
1 cup uncooked sushi rice
1 1/4 cup water
oil
 
Optional fixings:  shibazuke (japanese pickles), soy sauce, furikake rice seasoning. sesame seeds, finely chopped toasted nori, sea salt
Serve with: soy sauce and optional: shibazuke (japanese pickles), sea asparagus

Rice cooker instructions:
Put rice and water in a rice cooker, turn it on. Once it's cooked, remove lid and let sit without stirring for 5 minutes to let it cool.
Stovetop instructions: 
Put water and rice in a heavy bottomed pot, bring to boil, turn to medium low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Once your rice is cooked and slightly cooled, you can start forming the onigiri. I find that if you let the rice cool too much, or stir it, it tends to fall apart when you shape the balls.
Have a bowl of water ready so that you can really wet your hands, that way the rice won't stick.

To make a plain onigiri.
Take a little handful of rice in your wet hands, about 3 tbsp. Form it into a triangle or oval. If you're lucky enough to have an onigiri shaper, or a cookie cutter that would work - use that, I didn't. Once you have it formed, put it on a plate until you're ready to cook them all.
To make a shibazuke stuffed onigiri:
Take a little handful of rice in your wet hands, about 3 tbsp. Form it into a triangle or oval and push a few shibakuke, into the middle and form the rice to hide the pickles .  Once you have it formed, put it on a plate until you're ready to cook them all.
To make a seasoned onigiri:
Mix a few tbsp of furikake in to the cooked rice. If you don't have furikake you can mix the rice with sesame seeds, nori and salt. Form it into a triangle or oval. Once you have it formed, put it on a plate until you're ready to cook them all.

Grill the onigiri in a lightly oiled medium-low pan until all the sides form a golden crispy crust. Brush all sides with soy sauce and re-fry quickly. Serve with soy and enjoy!