Onigiri
Japanese rice balls
Ingredients
- 400 g Japanese short-grain rice
- 2 sheet Nori sheets
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)
Method
- Rinse the rice in cold water until it runs nearly clear. Drain.
- Combine the rice with the same volume of fresh water in a heavy saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Drop the heat to its lowest setting and cook 12 minutes. Don't lift the lid.
- Pull the pot off the heat. Rest 10 minutes, lid on.
- While the rice cooks: cut the nori into wide strips (roughly 3 cm × 10 cm).
- Tip the cooked rice into a wide bowl and fan it gently to release steam — cool just enough that you can handle it without burning your hands.
- Wet your hands with salted water, then press portions of rice into firm triangles.
- Wrap each triangle with a strip of nori and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Serve at room temperature.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Onigiri
Onigiri are the hand-pressed rice balls that anchor Japanese lunchboxes, convenience stores, and picnics alike — portable, humble, and quietly precise. They're made from Japanese short-grain rice, whose stickiness is what lets the rice hold a firm triangle without falling apart, then wrapped in a strip of nori and seasoned simply with salt and sesame. Getting the rice right is the whole foundation: rinsing until the water runs nearly clear removes surface starch, and a proper covered simmer followed by a ten-minute rest, lid on, gives grains that are tender but distinct enough to press together.
Shaping is the craft. The rice is cooled just enough to handle, hands are wetted with salted water so nothing sticks and the salt seasons the surface, and portions are pressed into firm triangles — firm enough to hold, gentle enough to keep the rice from turning to paste. Plain and unfilled, they taste of clean, faintly sweet rice with the sea-savoriness of nori and a nutty edge from sesame, an ideal blank canvas that also travels beautifully at room temperature. Serve them as a side, a snack, or the backbone of a packed lunch alongside pickles or grilled fish.
Onigiri: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Onigiri?
A serving has about 380 calories — 7.3g protein, 80.2g carbs, 2.4g fat, 0.4g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is Onigiri gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Onigiri has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Onigiri take to make?
About 44 minutes start to finish, but only around 18 of those are hands-on — the rest is cooking time. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Onigiri?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out sesame seeds — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Onigiri make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.