Yaki Onigiri Grill Rice Balls Food

YAKI ONIGIRI (GRILLED RICE BALL)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients. Cook the rice with a rice cooker, a pot over the stove, an instant pot, or a donabe. Let the cooked rice cool a little bit until you can hold rice without burning your hands. Do not let the rice completely cool down.

YAKI ONIGIRI

Steps:

• Use 1 cup of hot (or warm) cooked Japanese short grain rice per serving. Add the rice to a small bowl (like a cereal bowl) just big enough to hold it. Jiggle the bowl, moving it in a flat, circular motion, like the motion of a hula hoop, until the rice forms into a ball on its own-a neat kitchen trick Tadashi's mom taught him. This motion packs the rice so it holds together when it grills.
• Wet your hands and place the ball of rice between your cupped palms. Now squeeze, flip, and turn the rice ball several times to form it into a triangular shape. This motion takes a little practice, but after a few yaki onigiri, you'll get the hang of it. Make sure not to compact the rice too tight; you want it to just stick together.
• Grill yaki onigiri over medium heat. If the fire's too hot, the rice will burn. We like to place the yaki onigiri along the cooler edges of a grill while other foods cook in the hotter center. Watch the rice carefully while it grills; perfect yaki onigiri need constant attention.
• How to Cook Japanese Rice
• There are two basic ways to prepare Japanese rice: rice cooker or stovetop. If you have an electronic rice cooker, wash and rest the rice as we describe below, then follow cooker instructions. To prepare rice on the stovetop, an enameled cast-iron or cast-iron pot works best because these heavy pots do such a great job distributing heat.
• Makes 4 cups of rice 2 cups Japanese short-grain white rice 2 cups water
• Wash the rice to remove surface starch by placing the rice in a bowl, filling it with water, and swirling the rice with your hand. Drain off the milky liquid. Repeat 3 or 4 times until the water becomes clear enough to see the rice. Wash quickly; the entire process should take no longer than 3 minutes (soaking the rice in the washing water too long can cloud its flavor). Strain the rice into a colander, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rest for 15 minutes, so the grains naturally rehydrate, which helps them cook evenly.
• Add the rice and 2 cups of water to a pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and cook 10 minutes, until you smell a beautiful rice aroma in the steam escaping from the pot. Be careful not to overcook, or you'll burn the rice. Turn off the heat and let the covered pot sit for 10 minutes, a critical step that completes the cooking process. Uncover the pot, gently stir the rice with a large spoon to fluff it up, and it's ready.

ROASTED RICE BALLS (ONIGIRI YAKI)

Steps:

• Form the rice into four disk shapes. This is a lot easier if you keep a bowl of cool salt water next to you to dip your hands into before forming each ball.
• Combine the miso with 1/2 t. of the sake and set aside. Combine the soy sauce with the rest of the sake and set aside.
• Brush one side of each onigiri with oil and place oil side down in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brush the other side of the onigiri with oil.
• Once the first side has started turning golden, turn onigiri over. Brush miso mixture on two of the onigiri and the soy sauce mixture on the other two.
• When the second side has started turning golden, turn over again so that the first side (with miso or soy mix) is down on the pan. Brush the second side with miso and soy sauce mixtures (making sure the sides match).
• When the first side has browned well (kind of a caramel color for the soy sauce ones), turn and let the second side brown.