Ready, Set, Coconut Onigiri!

Being newly gluten-free I've begun looking for new and interesting recipes to try that are both healthy and keep well for a couple of days. I just received my first rice cooker as a holiday present from my parents this year and was excited to put it to use. I got the idea to try this recipe while I was at an event on Friday, Ignite Craft Boston's after party at the Friendly Toast in Cambridge, when someone mentioned I should try to make onigiri. This suggestion was bought about because I was complaining about the changes in my alcohol tolerance being impacted by my inability to eat bread products to absorb a surplus of bourbon in my system. Naturally someone suggested the bags of quick microwave-able rice, which would work but would not be nearly as delicious. Then someone suggested I try to make Japanese rice balls, intrigued by this idea, I looked online for a recipe the next day. I scoped the usual places to gather the basic idea of how it worked and then set to scour my pantry.

Last week I wanted to make macaroons from my new Flying Apron cookbook but I was short on coconut. After a trip to Russo's I was more than equip! Seeing as I had rice, toasted sesame seeds, coconut, and seaweed snacks we were set to test. I made 3 cups of sushi rice, which I might add was far more than needed, the better part of that batch is chilling in my fridge waiting for a purpose. It's likely you could get a good batch out of 1-2 cups depending on how many rice balls you wanted to commit to eating. Below is the basic recipe you can adjust it to your liking or needs. I know many people on the message boards for Epicurious made them as an appetizer, this yields a good amount and straddles the sweet and salty divide.

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups of fresh sushi rice
  Each cup of dry rice cooked will yield at least 8-12 rice balls when measured out with a tablespoon.
• 1 packet of Trader Joes Roasted Seaweed Snacks
  These were pre-cut and salted for ease of use, and are both Vegan and Gluten Free. You can use the sushi seaweed if you don't have access to Trader Joes. Though I would recommend a tiny sprinkle of salt if you use regular seaweed to bring out the coconut flavor.
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• toasted sesame seeds (to sprinkle on top)

Prep Notes

Before getting started, lay down some plastic wrap so you have a nice working surface to sprinkle your onigiri. Grab a spoon for your coconut so you can spoon it in. Ultimately you can use whatever filling you like, red bean paste was popular on the internet and I can see a piping bag working well with that sticky textured filling. I think overtime I'll revisit this with different fillings as I found it fun, easy, and yummy!

Notes on Technique

Wetting your hands and the 1 tablespoon measure before each rice ball is key to not having the rice stick to your hands or tools. I tried forming them with my hands as well as compressing some into a round shape with a small section of plastic wrap. I was more fond of the texture of the handmade onigiri because it was less dense and chewy.  Feel free to try both ways and let me know your preferences in the comments. You can also make different shapes with the rice triangles, ovals, and squares are also popular in Japan.

Ready, Set, Onigiri!

Wet hands and your rice scooper, then gather a small handful of rice and roll it into a ball. Stick your finger in the center of the ball making a little nest and fill it with coconut. You don't need a whole lot, if you like extra coconut you can sprinkle it on top after forming the balls. Next, push the rice over the top of the hole in the bottom and cover the "seam" by wrapping the ball in a sheet of toasted seaweed before placing it on your plastic wrap. Continue to form your onigiri until you have completed making as many as you desire. Remember that if you have issues with the rice sticking to you rewet your hands and it will make the process easier.

Next, sprinkle the rice balls with sesame seeds and if you so choose extra coconut. For more complex flavor you can toast your coconut before you sprinkle it on. I didn't do this the first time around but likely will next time for a more nutty flavor. See the final results below, the set of four on the far left have extra sesame and coconut, the rest are just coconut filled.

Linji's Onigiri are Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Comerical, Share & Share-Alike.

I hope you find this recipe handy, it's the perfect thing to make if you know you're headed for a night on the town. You can also save some time by prepping the rice, if you have a rice maker with a timer. I was a bit unsure of how to store these, since nothing was perishable I left them out of the fridge and stored them in a ziploc tupperware leaving one edge unsealed so the moisutre wouldn't leave the seaweed soggy. I also left a few out in the air and they were a bit dry the next morning.

Let me know if you give this a try or have and new filling or topping recommendations I should try!