Yaki Onigiri with miso sauce

I’m sure many of you are total and absolute fans of Japanese food. At home we are and a lot, in fact, one of those whims that falls at least once a month. I don’t think it’s easy to make them, but everything has a beginning and this time we’ll make a first contact with this Yaki Onigiri with Miso sauce.

The translation of “Yaki onigiri” (焼きおにぎり) from Japanese would be “grilled (yaki) rice ball (onigiri)“. I’m sure that if you look around you will see that it is used for many different types of dishes: Yakisoba, Teriyaki… It is a variety of the traditional onigiri in which we will toast them with a little butter and miso sauce. In this way we will achieve a crunchy touch on the outside, as well as an impressive taste.

What is the onigiri?

The o-musubi, nigirimeshi or onigiri, as it is commonly known, are rice balls filled with ingredients. They are usually decorated with a strip of dried nori seaweed or with sesame.

Not to be confused with sushi or related to a variety of it. The onigiri is just rice, delicately salted, while the sushi is made with vinegar, sugar and salt.

They are considered a very practical and perfect food to eat away from home, which is why they are usually made for the children’s lunches at school and are part of their bento (a simple meal ration, usually prepared at home, to take away) along with other foods.

Origin of the onigiri.

In the 11th century diary of Murasaki Shikibu Nikki, a Japanese writer known as Lady Murasaki, she wrote that people ate “rice balls”. At that time they were called tonjiki and were usually eaten for lunch in the open air.

Other writings found and dating from the 17th century, stated that many samurai stored rice balls wrapped in bamboo sheaths to be eaten as fast food at lunchtime during the war.

But the origins of the onigiri are far older than even those of Lady Murasaki. Before the use of chopsticks became widespread, in the Nara period (from 710 to 794), rice was usually eaten in the form of balls so that it could be easily caught.

In Heian period (from 794 to 1185), rice was also consumed in a rectangular shape known as tonjiki, so that it could be stacked on a plate and eaten easily.

From the Kamakura period to the early Edo period, the onigiri was used as fast food. The cooks only had to worry about making enough of them and not about serving them. At the time, they were just salty rice balls.

It was not until the Genroku era (from 1688 to the third month of 1704), in the middle of the Edo period, when nori cultivation became widespread and its transformation into sheets could be used for gastronomy.

It was in 1980 when it took its triangular shape due to the use of a machine that formed them in this way.

Types of onigiri.

Onigiri of different fillings can be found. In Japan, any seasoning used to dress any dish of rice is often called furikake, but in practice furikake is understood to be a mixture of seaweed, dried fish, pulses, seeds and salt. Normally, to differentiate them from each other, a small amount of filler is placed on top of them.

The most common fillings are:

• Tuna salad with mayonnaise, prawns with mayonnaise….
• Dried fish, roasted and shredded mackerel
• Tarako, salted cod roe
• Shiojyake, grilled salmon
• Fried foods such as tempura, meat…
• Kakuni, Dongpo pork
• Dehydrated foods such as okaka (katsuobushi, fermented and dehydrated tuna flakes)
• Shiokara, paste made with seafood
• Tsukudani, seafood or seaweed cooked with soy and mirin
• Pickled fruits, umeboshi (Chinese plum), takana (mustard)
• Miso, mixed with green garlic or spread over the surface of the onigiri and then roasted (as we will do)

In my case I have used two types of filling that are the ones we can make more easily; tuna salad with mayonnaise and okaka (katsuobushi with soya).

This recipe wonder I have followed from the wonderful Shihoko from the “Chopstick Chronicles” blog. If you like Japanese food, be sure to visit their website and try their recipes! 😀