When I was a high-school student in Seoul, the most typical after school snack was these Onigiri rice balls (In Korea we call them “Samgak-Kimbap” meaning triangle rice roll). They were sold in any convenient shops and sold for under CHF 1. Small and delicious for snacking or a light lunch if you serve with miso soup.
No fancy ingredients are needed, and you can make it quick at home too. There are so many varieties for the filling, from stir-fried Kimchi, pickled plum, salmon, teriyaki chicken, etc. but the most popular one is the Tuna-Mayonnaise (aka “Tuna-Mayo”). Let’s make it!
This recipe is for lovely Corinna and her team who have visited our cooking classes multiple times.
Ingredients for two Onigiri
- 200g of Sushi rice, cooked and still warm
- Half sheet of Nori (Migros has it), cut into 2 long strips
- 40g canned tuna, oil squeezed out
- 30g mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon chopped green onions
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of something spicy: sambal oelek, sriracha sauce, wasabi or any chili oil (you can also omit)
- Salt and pepper
- A small bowl of room temperature water to wet your hands
Steps
- First, let’s make the Tuna-Mayo filling: In a bowl, put in the tuna and break it with your fingers into flakes. Add in the mayonnaise, chopped green onions, sesame oil, the spicy element, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well until it becomes a smooth paste. Taste it and adjust to your liking.
- Wet your hands with the water and sprinkle some salt on both hands. Then take a handful of rice like you see in the picture. Make a whole in the middle of the rice and add in the Tuna-Mayo and push it into the deep center of the rice. If you need more rice to cover the top, add some more.
- Press and mould the rice into a triangle shape, or a disc, or into a ball. The traditional shape is a triangle. Optionally you can also sprinkle some sesame seeds instead of wrapping with a Nori sheet.
- Wrap the Nori sheet around the rice ball. Enjoy!
0 Comments