This is my attempt at onigiri, which I’m gonna bring to a club event. But the issue is the rice keeps falling apart. Is there any tips for getting the rice to be stickier some how? I’m pan-frying these too if that helps with anything
Also I don’t have much time to make these for my event, so can I make the rice the day before and then mold it into the right shape, and on the next day can I then pan fry them? Will this cause the rice to fall apart even more?
Are you following a recipe? What rice are you using? Are you cooking the rice in a rice cooker? Are you seasoning it with a rice wine vinegar/sushi mix? Are you brushing the outside with anything before grilling?
I make onigiri regularly and don’t have this problem. But without knowing what you are using/what you are doing, I can’t offer much assistance.
Honey. You need to use sushi rice, not just regular rice. Nishiki is a good brand. Use the rice while it’s still warm and mold it around your fillings. Using an onigiri mold (like 1 dollar on Amazon) would make them perfect and uniform and save you a lot of trouble
[removed]
Use calrose rice when it’s warm, it sticks together really easily. Also put water on your hands so the rice doesn’t stick to them!
Your rice look like short grain rice to me. I think it’s a technical issue. Try wrapping with a cling film. Another thing is usually sushi/ onigiri is seasoned with a bit of sugar. That would also help them stick together better. And looks like your filling is a bit wet or is it soy sauce? If you’re using spam, it’s easier to wrap with one big chunk than small chunks. Use more rice too.
If you don’t have time, let’s try the correct method later.
For now, if you cover it all with nori, it will help prevent it from falling apart. Yes, like the onigiri from Japanese convenience stores, wrap everything with a piece of nori.
If you don’t have a nori sheet big enough to wrap around, you can simply stick strips of nori all over the surface of the onigiri. You can explain that you’ve made it so it won’t be sticky when held in the hand.
If you’d like to start by making onigiri rather than cooking rice from scratch, you might consider warming up “Sato Koshihikari Cooked White Rice, 7.05 oz (Pack of 5)”. That way, you can begin your onigiri-making adventure right away. 🙂
I hope it goes well! 🙂
I use scissors to cut the nori strips beforehand to make them look cute and uniform. I personally use my hands to mold because I like them a little smaller than what the molds usually produce. I also soak the rice for 30 min before putting it in the steamer to make it extra sticky. Anything, and I mean anything, you squeeze into the rice for the fillings will cause the rice to stick less, so choose the fillings carefully! Make sure you use water and salt on your hands before forming, and most importantly, practice makes perfect!! Even if they’re ugly they still taste good! Just have fun with it!
Watch a YouTube video… don’t take this out of your house.
Mixing very moist or wet ingredients with the rice will keep the rice from sticking to itself – that looks like what might have happened to yours. I’d recommend using plain, warm rice. Wet your hands slightly and sprinkle some salt on them. This will season the rice and keep it from sticking to your hands. Get a decent sized hunk of rice, shape a bit, make an indent, put in just a little bit of filling, and then cover with more rice. Shape as desired, making sure you pack it fairly tightly. You can also use plastic wrap instead of your hands. I find if I use too much filling, they are more likely to fall apart. If you want to make yaki onigiri (grill them), I wouldn’t use filling at all.
If you aren’t serving immediately, do not add the seaweed to the outside until you’re ready to serve; otherwise, it will get soggy. Definitely do not make them a day early. They are best the same day and will get hard in the fridge.
Sorry so many people are being so unnecessarily rude. It looks like you’re using the right kind of rice. Just skimming through your responses, I think the issues are:
1) The rice has to be hot, otherwise it won’t mold and stick properly. Fresh cooked rice is best because that’s when it’s at it’s stickiest, but you might be able to make it work with reheated day old rice. This is why more people use molds these days bc that rice is hot. Be careful!
2) Make sure you wet your hands and sprinkle some salt right before you mold your onigiri. Not only does the salt add flavor, but it helps with slowing mold growth since onigiris are typically held at room temp for several hours before consumption.
3) Definitely don’t put rice vinegar in the rice. That’s really for when you’re making sushi, and if it isn’t mixed in correctly, the rice just ends up a mushy mess. So please don’t add rice vinegar like other commenters are suggesting.
4) Getting the shape “perfect” doesn’t happen the first time. It just takes some practice so they’re only going to get better and better.
5) Your mix-in might be interfering with the stickage if it’s too oily or too wet. They also might get more burnt than you want when you pan fry them. It might work better being stuffed inside if that’s the case.
6) You definitely don’t want to pan fry them with the nori on there. Burnt nori is no bueno. If you make another batch, hopefully they’ll stick together better without the nori, and you can just add it later or bring some separately so your club mates can add it themselves.
Have fun! I’m sure they’ll taste great!
Lol omg. I appreciate the effort.
Yes, stop NOW!!!
Honestly, these look pretty tasty. You should be proud of your first attempt! There are a couple things I’d mention for your future onigiri:
– they are generally larger, but can be any size! I try to make them triangles about 2-3inches on each side. An onigiri form or mold can help with this a lot. They’re cheap, maybe get a couple.
– for now until you are comfortable, try sticking to rice and filling. Seaweed and sauce can come later. Focus on getting a good shape that encapuslates the filling. I would try tuna or pickled radish. They’re delicious.
– the short grain rice should be piping hot and sticky, not too much or too little water. You’ll get a sense for it as you make the rice over and over. You should be able to pack it like a snowball
– look up musubi and onigirazu. They are very forgiving alternatives to onigiri and are delicious.
Good luck, keep practicing!
Mix vinegar salt and sugar (flavour your own preference on sweet/salty) then add to rice while it’s still hot out of the rice cooker. Mix it thoroughly and let it cool. It should be sticky AF at this point
I’m not hating, but your oniguri made me laugh 🙂
I just started making some myself, I read that you have to soak the rice for a few hours.
I let my rice soak 2 hours and it was super sticky I also didn’t wash the rice until the 2 hours were up. I think the starch makes it more sticky?
Good luck nice time buddy 🙂
Good job! you made it!
Don’t ever replace Japanese rice with another type, it does not work. You can use brown sushi rice, but beside that, there’s a reason why Japanese rice is cuisine specific
Lol C+ for effort
Since there wasn’t much time before the club event, I quickly made onigiri and recorded a video.
Hi! As commentor suggested to use Nishiki, i wanted to add an extra tip in case if you’re not using rice cooker. (I am not using it as it’s very expensive for me for the brand i want right now) i always cooked my Nishiki in a pot atm. I make 6 onigiri’s usually.
I suggest to also use a onigiri mould you can find online.
(6 onigiri)
I weight 190g nishiki rice & 220g of water. I let it soak for 20-30 minutes, then i turn on high heat with lid on until boil. Once it boils, turn it down to low heat & cook for 8 mins.
Turn off heat, don’t open lid for 15 mins. Add your rice seasoning like furikake, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar. It’s totally up to you. I did add little on mine & it didn’t affect my rice 😀
After i added my seasoning, i put the rice into the onigiri mould and put my filling which is mayo tuna. Add more rice on top, and using the mould to press it down to form an onigiri shape.
I use potato starch and sieve a little and brush soy sauce on each side top & bottom side. (Adding potato starch helps gives crunchy texture)
In a pan i added little oil on med-hi heat first. Waited till it’s warm then i add the onigiri then turn the heat to med-low heat. I let it cook until its a little hard underneath, then you can flip it and cook until little hard.
I hope this helps! You might can find the onigiri mould in asian markets too 😊
My advice is next time order sushi and don’t make it at home.
1. Sure they look horrendous, but then so does everyone’s first Onigiri. That’s how we get to the good ones. Through trial and error. 2. Japanese rice is a must, it has to be cooked with the right amount of water to be sticky. Don’t wash it too much, which removes all the starch. 3. Use a rice cooker. 4. Mould the Onigiri with your hands (wet your hands as you mould). 5. The rice doesn’t need to be super hot, it needs to be hot though and sticky (too much water? Mushy and won’t stick. Not enough water? Dry and devoid of stickiness). 6. Honestly, don’t spend a fortune on expensive rice. Any Japanese rice or sushi rice will be fine. The key is using the correct amount of water and a rice cooker.
Too many immature children commenting rude things to make themselves feel better. Pathetic. OP, there are some solid advice on your post— hope they work out for you!! 🙂
27 comments
Also I don’t have much time to make these for my event, so can I make the rice the day before and then mold it into the right shape, and on the next day can I then pan fry them? Will this cause the rice to fall apart even more?
Are you following a recipe? What rice are you using? Are you cooking the rice in a rice cooker? Are you seasoning it with a rice wine vinegar/sushi mix? Are you brushing the outside with anything before grilling?
I make onigiri regularly and don’t have this problem. But without knowing what you are using/what you are doing, I can’t offer much assistance.
Honey. You need to use sushi rice, not just regular rice. Nishiki is a good brand. Use the rice while it’s still warm and mold it around your fillings. Using an onigiri mold (like 1 dollar on Amazon) would make them perfect and uniform and save you a lot of trouble
[removed]
Use calrose rice when it’s warm, it sticks together really easily. Also put water on your hands so the rice doesn’t stick to them!
Your rice look like short grain rice to me. I think it’s a technical issue. Try wrapping with a cling film. Another thing is usually sushi/ onigiri is seasoned with a bit of sugar. That would also help them stick together better. And looks like your filling is a bit wet or is it soy sauce? If you’re using spam, it’s easier to wrap with one big chunk than small chunks. Use more rice too.
If you don’t have time, let’s try the correct method later.
For now, if you cover it all with nori, it will help prevent it from falling apart. Yes, like the onigiri from Japanese convenience stores, wrap everything with a piece of nori.
If you don’t have a nori sheet big enough to wrap around, you can simply stick strips of nori all over the surface of the onigiri. You can explain that you’ve made it so it won’t be sticky when held in the hand.
If you’d like to start by making onigiri rather than cooking rice from scratch, you might consider warming up “Sato Koshihikari Cooked White Rice, 7.05 oz (Pack of 5)”. That way, you can begin your onigiri-making adventure right away. 🙂
I hope it goes well! 🙂
I use scissors to cut the nori strips beforehand to make them look cute and uniform. I personally use my hands to mold because I like them a little smaller than what the molds usually produce. I also soak the rice for 30 min before putting it in the steamer to make it extra sticky. Anything, and I mean anything, you squeeze into the rice for the fillings will cause the rice to stick less, so choose the fillings carefully! Make sure you use water and salt on your hands before forming, and most importantly, practice makes perfect!! Even if they’re ugly they still taste good! Just have fun with it!
Watch a YouTube video… don’t take this out of your house.
Lol , you need a Lot of advice …
I’m not sure what exactly you did, but I’d recommend Just One Cookbook for a good onigirirecipe with video for instruction. https://www.justonecookbook.com/onigiri-rice-balls/
I use cling wrap as a trick to avoid sticking.
Mixing very moist or wet ingredients with the rice will keep the rice from sticking to itself – that looks like what might have happened to yours. I’d recommend using plain, warm rice. Wet your hands slightly and sprinkle some salt on them. This will season the rice and keep it from sticking to your hands. Get a decent sized hunk of rice, shape a bit, make an indent, put in just a little bit of filling, and then cover with more rice. Shape as desired, making sure you pack it fairly tightly. You can also use plastic wrap instead of your hands. I find if I use too much filling, they are more likely to fall apart. If you want to make yaki onigiri (grill them), I wouldn’t use filling at all.
If you aren’t serving immediately, do not add the seaweed to the outside until you’re ready to serve; otherwise, it will get soggy. Definitely do not make them a day early. They are best the same day and will get hard in the fridge.
Sorry so many people are being so unnecessarily rude. It looks like you’re using the right kind of rice. Just skimming through your responses, I think the issues are:
1) The rice has to be hot, otherwise it won’t mold and stick properly. Fresh cooked rice is best because that’s when it’s at it’s stickiest, but you might be able to make it work with reheated day old rice. This is why more people use molds these days bc that rice is hot. Be careful!
2) Make sure you wet your hands and sprinkle some salt right before you mold your onigiri. Not only does the salt add flavor, but it helps with slowing mold growth since onigiris are typically held at room temp for several hours before consumption.
3) Definitely don’t put rice vinegar in the rice. That’s really for when you’re making sushi, and if it isn’t mixed in correctly, the rice just ends up a mushy mess. So please don’t add rice vinegar like other commenters are suggesting.
4) Getting the shape “perfect” doesn’t happen the first time. It just takes some practice so they’re only going to get better and better.
5) Your mix-in might be interfering with the stickage if it’s too oily or too wet. They also might get more burnt than you want when you pan fry them. It might work better being stuffed inside if that’s the case.
6) You definitely don’t want to pan fry them with the nori on there. Burnt nori is no bueno. If you make another batch, hopefully they’ll stick together better without the nori, and you can just add it later or bring some separately so your club mates can add it themselves.
Have fun! I’m sure they’ll taste great!
Lol omg. I appreciate the effort.
Yes, stop NOW!!!
Honestly, these look pretty tasty. You should be proud of your first attempt! There are a couple things I’d mention for your future onigiri:
– they are generally larger, but can be any size! I try to make them triangles about 2-3inches on each side. An onigiri form or mold can help with this a lot. They’re cheap, maybe get a couple.
– for now until you are comfortable, try sticking to rice and filling. Seaweed and sauce can come later. Focus on getting a good shape that encapuslates the filling. I would try tuna or pickled radish. They’re delicious.
– the short grain rice should be piping hot and sticky, not too much or too little water. You’ll get a sense for it as you make the rice over and over. You should be able to pack it like a snowball
– look up musubi and onigirazu. They are very forgiving alternatives to onigiri and are delicious.
Good luck, keep practicing!
Mix vinegar salt and sugar (flavour your own preference on sweet/salty) then add to rice while it’s still hot out of the rice cooker. Mix it thoroughly and let it cool. It should be sticky AF at this point
I’m not hating, but your oniguri made me laugh 🙂
I just started making some myself, I read that you have to soak the rice for a few hours.
I let my rice soak 2 hours and it was super sticky
I also didn’t wash the rice until the 2 hours were up. I think the starch makes it more sticky?
Good luck nice time buddy 🙂
Good job! you made it!
Don’t ever replace Japanese rice with another type, it does not work. You can use brown sushi rice, but beside that, there’s a reason why Japanese rice is cuisine specific
Lol C+ for effort
Since there wasn’t much time before the club event, I quickly made onigiri and recorded a video.
[onigiri movie](https://wellbeinglifejapan.com/img/onigiri.mp4) (Attention: This will be a sound.)
I hope you find it helpful.
Hi! As commentor suggested to use Nishiki, i wanted to add an extra tip in case if you’re not using rice cooker. (I am not using it as it’s very expensive for me for the brand i want right now) i always cooked my Nishiki in a pot atm. I make 6 onigiri’s usually.
I suggest to also use a onigiri mould you can find online.
(6 onigiri)
I weight 190g nishiki rice
& 220g of water.
I let it soak for 20-30 minutes, then i turn on high heat with lid on until boil. Once it boils, turn it down to low heat & cook for 8 mins.
Turn off heat, don’t open lid for 15 mins.
Add your rice seasoning like furikake, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar. It’s totally up to you. I did add little on mine & it didn’t affect my rice 😀
After i added my seasoning, i put the rice into the onigiri mould and put my filling which is mayo tuna. Add more rice on top, and using the mould to press it down to form an onigiri shape.
I use potato starch and sieve a little and brush soy sauce on each side top & bottom side.
(Adding potato starch helps gives crunchy texture)
In a pan i added little oil on med-hi heat first.
Waited till it’s warm then i add the onigiri then turn the heat to med-low heat. I let it cook until its a little hard underneath, then you can flip it and cook until little hard.
I hope this helps! You might can find the onigiri mould in asian markets too 😊
My advice is next time order sushi and don’t make it at home.
1. Sure they look horrendous, but then so does everyone’s first Onigiri. That’s how we get to the good ones. Through trial and error.
2. Japanese rice is a must, it has to be cooked with the right amount of water to be sticky. Don’t wash it too much, which removes all the starch.
3. Use a rice cooker.
4. Mould the Onigiri with your hands (wet your hands as you mould).
5. The rice doesn’t need to be super hot, it needs to be hot though and sticky (too much water? Mushy and won’t stick. Not enough water? Dry and devoid of stickiness).
6. Honestly, don’t spend a fortune on expensive rice. Any Japanese rice or sushi rice will be fine. The key is using the correct amount of water and a rice cooker.
Too many immature children commenting rude things to make themselves feel better. Pathetic.
OP, there are some solid advice on your post— hope they work out for you!! 🙂