Grilled Rice Balls (焼きおにぎり, Yaki Onigiri)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker or heavy pot with a tight lid
• •Shamoji rice paddle, or a damp wooden spoon
• •Yakiami wire grill net, charcoal grill, broiler rack, or cast-iron skillet
• •Small pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the rice

   Rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water runs almost clear, then drain for 10 minutes. Wash it twice, wash it thrice, but don't scrub the grain raw. You are removing loose surface starch so the outside doesn't cook up gummy, while keeping enough natural cling for the onigiri to hold.

2. 2

   Cook and rest

   Cook the rice with the measured water in a rice cooker, or in a heavy pot with a tight lid. When it finishes, let it rest 10 minutes before opening. That rest lets the moisture settle evenly, so the rice shapes cleanly instead of turning wet at the surface and dry in the middle.

   For this dish, use warm freshly cooked rice when you can. Dry rice breaks apart, and over-wet rice smears.
3. 3

   Shape the onigiri

   Dissolve the salt in the 1/2 cup water. Wet your hands with this salted water, shake off the excess, and divide the warm rice into 6 portions. Shape each into a firm triangle about 1 inch thick, pressing just enough to remove gaps. Too loose and it falls apart on the grill. Too tight and the center eats like paste.

4. 4

   Set the crust

   Heat a yakiami grill net, charcoal grill, broiler rack, or cast-iron skillet over medium heat and oil it lightly. Set the onigiri down plain, with no soy yet, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side until the surface dries, browns in patches, and releases without tearing. This first dry crust is the whole secret.

   Do not move them early. Rice sticks while it is still soft, then lets go once the surface has dried and browned.
5. 5

   Brush with shōyu

   Brush one face lightly with shōyu, turn it sauce-side down, and cook 20 to 30 seconds until the surface turns glossy brown and smells nutty. Brush the other face, turn, and cook the same way. Repeat once if you want a deeper color, but keep the coats thin. A flood of soy burns and loosens the rice.

6. 6

   Serve at once

   Let the onigiri rest for 1 minute, then wrap each with a strip of yaki nori if using. Serve hot, by hand, with pickles or tea. The outside should be crisp and soy-dark in places, the inside still tender and plain.

Chef Tips

• •Use Japanese short-grain rice. Jasmine, basmati, and most long-grain rice won't cling properly, and no amount of squeezing will make them behave like onigiri rice.
• •Brush the shōyu only after the rice has a crust. This is not fussiness. Soft rice drinks soy like a sponge, then sticks and burns before it can brown.
• •If you have a yakiami, use it for a clean grilled surface. A cast-iron skillet is a sensible stand-in. Keep the heat moderate, because the rice needs time to dry before the soy meets it.
• •Plainness is the standard here. If the rice tastes dull, don't bury it under sauce. Use better rice, cook it carefully, and let the crust do its quiet work.

Advance Preparation

• •With hot cooked rice already made, shaping and grilling take about 20 minutes.
• •You can shape the onigiri while the rice is warm, wrap them individually, and refrigerate up to 1 day. Let them stand 15 minutes before grilling so the centers are not icy-cold.
• •For freezing, grill the shaped onigiri until the crust is set but do not brush with shōyu. Cool, wrap, and freeze up to 1 month. Reheat in a toaster oven or skillet until crisp, then brush with shōyu at the end.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)