🍙 Yaki onigiri (grilled rice ball)
Yaki onigiri are Japanese rice balls grilled until the outside turns crisp and toasty, then brushed with a glaze of soy sauce and mirin. The inside stays soft and sticky while the crust is savoury and lightly caramelised. They are sprinkled with sesame seeds and eaten as a snack, at izakaya, or as a finish to a grilled meal.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice, warm
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vegetable oil for the pan
Method
- With wet, lightly salted hands, press the rice into 4 firm triangles or discs.
- Mix the soy sauce and mirin.
- Heat a lightly oiled non-stick pan or grill and cook the rice balls over medium heat for 4–5 minutes per side until crisp.
- Brush with the glaze and cook for another minute per side until it caramelises, brushing again once.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve warm.
How to make it lighter
- One rice ball is a light snack; two with grilled vegetables make a small meal.
- Make smaller rice balls of about 80 g each to control the portion.
- Brush the glaze thinly — a little soy sauce goes a long way.
History
Onigiri have been eaten in Japan for centuries as portable food, and grilling them over charcoal is a traditional way to use and reheat rice. Yaki onigiri are a familiar item at izakaya and yakitori bars and are also sold frozen in Japanese supermarkets.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →