Nigiri

Today we are making Rice balls or original Japanese NIGIRI. Rice balls/triangles/mini rolls are delicious, versatile, and easy to prepare.
They are amazing around the sport, but also great for packed lunch or as a food on the go. Mostly it’s shape is triangle and you can either mix ingredients into rice or fill your favourite ingredient in the ball. Our version of Rice balls don’t really need a recipe to make. Anybody, including someone who has never cooked before, can start making it right away if you have cooked rice.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups short-grain rice (sushi rice, risotto rice)
  • 1 cup of smoked salmon, leftover or grilled chicken or prawns chopped into tiny pieces.
  • 1 cup chopped vegetables like carrot, avocado, radish, pepper or cucumber in tiny pieces
  • water
  • salt
  • roast seaweed or sesame seeds or seaweed and dried vegetable mix

Method:
Cook the rice first:

  1. Wash the 4 cups of short-grain rice in a mesh strainer until the water runs clear.
  2. Combine washed rice and 4 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan.
  3. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
  4. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer rice until the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
  5. Let rice rest, for 15 minutes to allow the rice to continue to steam and become tender.
  6. Allow cooked rice to cool.

Making balls:

  1. Put some rice in a rice bowl.
  2. Wet hands with salty water. Place rice in one hand, press rice firmly in your hands and make it into a ball or some other kind of shape
  3. Make a well in the middle of the rice ball and put in small piece of chicken with some vegetables or just vegetables. Close the well.
  4. Reshape and wrap with a sheet of roasted seaweed (Nori) if your shape is rectangle or roll in the sesame seeds or seaweed and vegetable dried mix if is it ball. The seaweed and coating function as a wrapper so your hand doesn’t get messy, as well as for flavour. A rice ball with filling is like a complete meal that can be eaten in one hand.

TIP:
You can fill the centre of Onigiri rice balls with many different things. Just remember, nearer to the workout fill it in just with vegetables.
If you can’t be bother with filling it in, just mix it all together, make balls and roll them in the sesame seeds.
Keep cool if you’re not eating them straight away.

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