Salmon onigiri is fun to make and perfect for school lunches, picnics and even as an afternoon snack. Filled with delicious salmon and wrapped in nutrient rich nori seaweed, you’ll love these little triangle rice balls.
What is onigiri?
Onigiri is a Japanese rice ball, formed into different shapes, most commonly in a triangle. In Japan, you’ll find them in convenience and grocery stores, so perfect for on-the-go eating. The rice in onigiri is traditionally plain and just seasoned with a bit of salt. While sushi rice is seasoned with sushi vinegar which is a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and salt.
Rice seasoning variations
These days, people are very creative with their onigiri rice. I’ve seen rice seasoned with sushi vinegar, soy sauce, furikake, korean chili paste, sesame oil, you name it! My family loves the taste of sushi rice so I use sushi vinegar in my recipe. But be as creative as you like, there are no rules when it comes to cooking, go for the flavours that excite your taste buds!
Filling variations
As for the fillings, you can also be as creative as you want. I’ve seen everything from teriyaki beef, chicken and cheese, spicy cod roe, tuna mayo and runny egg yolks. One of the fillings I often use is salmon because I find its an easy way to get my kids to eat more fish.
Salmon health benefits:
- Rich in omega-3 fatty acids that helps decrease inflammation, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cancer
- High in protein
- Rich in B vitamins, potassium and selenium
Nori seaweed health benefits:
- Loaded with fiber and protein
- Incredibly rich in nutrients such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc
- Packed full of vitamins such as A, B, C, D, E and K, niacin, folic acid and taurine
Tips for making onigiri:
- Use fresh rice: When the rice is cooked, add sushi vinegar and mix. The best time to make onigiri, is once the rice is cooled down enough to handle but still warm. This is when the rice will stick together nicely. If its too cold, the rice might dry out and get hard.
- Wet your hands: Wet your hands before handling the rice so it won’t stick to your hands.
- Use an onigiri triangle mold: I bought one that has a tray of 6, so you don’t have to do one at a time. But they are on the smaller size at 6.5cm. The larger ones tend to be around 7.5cm.
- Or use your hands: If you don’t have an onigiri mold, you can form the triangle shape with your hands.
- Add seaweed before you eat: If you are not eating your onigiri right away, wrap the triangle shaped rice with plastic wrap. But don’t add the seaweed until you eat it or else it will get soggy.
Hope you enjoy these easy salmon onigiri!
Easy Salmon Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)
Ingredients
- 3 cups short grain sushi rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 can wild salmon
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons sushi vinegar
- Nori seaweed cut into small strips or you can keep them larger and wrap the entire triangle
Instructions
- Rinse rice in cold water and drain. Add 3 cups of water and cook in the rice cooker.
- While the rice is cooking, drain the canned salmon. Break it into flakes and season with soy sauce and sesame oil.
- Put cooked rice in a large bowl and mix with sushi vinegar.
- When the rice is cooled down enough to handle but still warm, you can start making the onigiri. Fill the bottom of the mold with a thin layer of rice, then salmon, then top with more rice. Next follow the manufacturer’s instructions of the particular mold you have. For mine, I put the lid on the mold, flip it over and the pop the triangles out.
- If you don’t have a mold, you can shape the triangles with your hands.
- Serve with nori seaweed.
