Hey Mark,you're a genius.I made these with scallions,browned sesame seed,and a little ginger cooked in the rice.Tried frying them in sesame oil then wrapping the sides in nori strips.They were so good I can't believe they're not a controlled substance.
I'm glad to hear it was helpful. I also have a link in the video description to a full webpage that includes more details about the ingredients and cooking process than I can convey in a short video.
Just made these and they were delicious! They ended up being a bit saltier from my tears knowing I had to share them haha. I had them with some miso and leftover Nigerian meatballs. These were the BEST yaki onigiri I've ever made/had. Thank you so, so much!
Wow that was quick! Thank you for trying it out, I'm glad you enjoyed them, though next time I guess you'll need to make a double batch 😆 I've never had Nigerian meatballs, what makes them different?
@@NoRecipes Lol, I definitely will have to do that. Well one of the ways that they're different is by using ground goat or lamb instead of ground beef. Also our tomato sauce is thick and uses habanero, onions, garlic and both pureed and chopped tomatoes. In a bit of oil you'd fry and reduce the tomato mixture. In the mixings using coarsely ground peanuts, lemongrass, Nigerian basil, orange zest, habanero peppers, minced onions and garlic, ginger powder and salt. My mom would sometimes use finely grated yam or taro that has been par-cooked in it too. Mix everything together and make them into almond shaped mounds and let them cook in the sauce. It's super delicious haha. There are different ways of doing it but that's one of the base recipes.
@@theonetruesarauniya Wow that sounds amazing Sara, thank you for sharing. I'm curious what Nigerian basil tastes like now. It's a little hard to find goat here in Japan, but I can get lamb, so I'm going to pick some up the next time I'm at the international market and try this. I love dishes like this that have regional variations almost anywhere you go in the world.
@@NoRecipes Oh wow! I hope you like them! I actually forgot to mention that there is lemongrass in it too. Lamb is an amazing swap. I've also used ground beef and pork to do it too and it came out fine. Oh! If habaneros or scotch bonnets aren't available, birdseye chilis work well also. Actually, please adjust on your preferred spice level of course. If you ever want to play around with West African or Notth African/ cuisine let me know haha. Hope you have a great day!
@@theonetruesarauniya Thanks! I had no idea lemongrass was used in African cuisine. I love North African cuisine (Egyptian/Tunisian/Moroccan), but I really don't know anything about West African cuisine, would love to learn more someday!
Just tried out this recipe, and filled the onigiri with left over shredded chicken and it was TANTALIZING. My taste buds are still trembling. I added furikake seasoning to the sides, and wrapped with nori *chef's kiss* Didn't have potato starch on hand, subbed with corn starch and the cronch was literally audible. Best tip ever, thank you so much for this amazing recipe! ~
Can you even imagine my delight that I have all of these ingredients at home (since I saw I can substitute potatoe starch for less corn starch). I'm so thrilled to try this. Might have to wait for my husband to be out for a while, he keeps annoying me by being nosy whenever I try a new recipe. The secret is to never let him know what's in it, else he gets really biased on not liking it before even trying. If he doesn't know, he most times ends up loving it ;)
For those wondering, you can sub corn starch and get the lovely golden result shown! Just use an incredibly light dusting (even less than shown) because it can get super overpowering super fast. 😅 I bet potato starch is milder than corn.
Hi Kitty, that makes sense, thanks for posting your observation. Cornstarch makes for a more crunchy crust whereas potato starch is more crispy (kinda like the difference between corn chips and potato chips). That's probably why a thinner layer works better.
made these with oyster sauce (since soy sauce has finished) + a chicken mayo filling (didn't have tuna lol) and they turned out so good. the crispy crust was the best, i would recommend frying the side parts of the onigiri as well if you want it to hold it's shape and crumble less while you eat it. thank you for this recipe. 💗
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Adding a filling will make it crumble as it has less internal structural integrity, but browning the edges is a good way to add more structure to the exterior to compensate. 👍🏽
I've been eagerly awaiting this one! They look so delicious. Thanks for the great tutorial and for figuring out how to make them extra crispy. And, butter!😋🧈🍙
I made these today but wasn’t able to achieve the beautiful results of Mark Sensei. One fell apart completely! Not bad because it meant we had a whole lot of nice crispy rice to eat. Maybe our butter has a stronger flavor here so next time I would avoid using it. That said, they were really yummy!
Hi johninitaly, there are a couple of possibilities. The biggest one is the type of rice. Did you use Japanese shortgrain rice? Other types of rice such as medium grain will not stick together as well and will fall apart more easily. The second possibility is that the rice wasn't compacted enough. Normally with onigiri and sushi you don't want to press the rice together too much, but for yakionigiri you want to squeeze it together pretty tightly so it's less likely to fall apart. The final possibility is that it fell apart from being too rough with the handling when you were moving it around. Hope this helps! And yes, yaki onigiri that's fallen part does have the benefit of additional surface area to crisp so I'm glad to hear you were able to enjoy it anyway😀
@@NoRecipes Thank you for answering! Yes, I used Japanese rice but I am not sure it is a good quality one and I am quite sure I made ALL the mistakes, including the ones you mention. It was my first try so next time will be better for sure!
@@johninitaly You're welcome! Please check the package to make sure it says "shortgrain rice" a lot of companies label their products as "Japanese rice" or "sushi rice", but it's actually medium grain rice grown in other countries. The type of rice is quite important as it effects the stickiness of the rice. You can read more about the different kinds of rice here: norecipes.com/cook-japanese-short-grain-rice/ Hopefully your next try goes better and I'm always here to help if you need it!
I just tried this. Instead of 2 TBSP soy sauce (I only had regular) I used I TBSP soy sauce plus 1 TBSP water with 1/4 tsp hondashi dissolved in it plus a pinch of salt. Very nice umami flavor in the result, though when I find the recommended soy sauce I want to make it again following the recipe. Great texture and toasty quality in the final product. I will make this more regularly. I wonder about substituting the butter with a small brushing of toasted sesame seed oil. Also I am wondering about the idea of possibly mixing some shiitake mushroom powder with the rice. I grate dried shiitake mushroom with a microplane.
By "Japanese soy sauce" I just mean regular Kikkoman (v.s. Chinese or Indonesian soy sauce, which tends to be thicker and darker), there's no dashi in it. Though using a dashi-based mentsuyu would be a great way to add a little extra oomph to the seasoning. As for using sesame oil, that's a great idea, however you're going to lose out on the umami that the butter adds. As for shiitake powder, if you like the flavor of shiitake it will definitely work well with the butter and soy sauce. I actually have a recipe coming soon to Bento Expo(should air sometime this month or next) where I make Yakionigiri stuffed into a shiitake mushroom and it's glazed with miso butter.
@@NoRecipes Thank you for taking the time to reply. I realize now I made a mental mistake about the soy sauce. I have Kikkoman Organic but I also read a recipe calling for Usukuchi soy sauce and confused it with this recipe. I think it was for tamagoyaki which I was also thinking about today. I realize with either soy sauce there is no dashi involved, I just thought it might add umami and result in a little lighter color onigiri.
@@rickclark1372 Ah gotcha! Usukuchi will work, but it has a higher sodium content (2-3% higher), so you'll need to reduce the amount slightly. It will also get you a lighter color, but Yaki-onigiri is meant to be a little brown.
Thanks! The molds I used for this were from a 100 yen shop and they're not great. I've switched to this a different one that's available here: en.bentoandco.com/collections/marc-matsumotos-favorite-products?ref=norecipes It's sturdier and the surface is non-stick.
Thanks Agustín, hope I was able to answer your question about the filling. The butter and soy sauce give it a lot of flavor so it doesn't really need a filling, but this is good with any of the traditional onigiri fillings, and you can also put stuff like cheese in it.
I know what I will be fixing me. And I have all of the ingredients including the leaves or nori. I also have the onigiri molds as well. So I'm set to go probably about tomorrow.
Yes, however cornstarch will create a more crunchy crust than the crispy crust you get with potato starch. Some people have noted that if you're using cornstarch it's better to go with an even lighter dusting that what I've done with potato starch. I hope you enjoy it!
Hello, being a student and a bit more on a budget is it possible to use more a common long grain grain rice for Yaki Onigri? If so, is there a process that I need to do to make it work?
@@NoRecipes Thank you! In that case, is there a more inexpensive short grain rice that you would recommend? Those that could be found in U.S. markets would be helpful.
@@rsaved9218 It won't be quite as sticky as short grain rice, but you could try using a medium grain rice such as the ones sold under the brand names Nishiki or Kokuho Rose. Both of these are produced in the US so they should be a little less expensive than imported rice.
Well now you’ve done it - just kidding. My daughter and I both adore onigiri, and so I make them quite often. My husband and son are indifferent - how anyone could be all “meh” about the deliciousness that is a properly made onigiri I will never understand. I make the flavors my daughter and I like best - mainly umeboshi, tuna salad, or salmon. But I just made your grilled onigiri using your potato starch and butter technique and now we are disagreeing. I’m totally in love with the crispy texture and the caramelized taste of the cooked soy sauce, but my daughter much prefers the soft textured plain version. So now I’ll have to make both every time I make them. It’s really not a big deal, and I’m still learning how to pan fry them without having them fall apart on me. I got much better with the second batch, as I controlled the heat better and didn’t move them about too much while they formed that delicious crispy surface. Thanks again! This was a fun one to try.
😆 Perhaps I can get your husband and son into the fray with a meat-wrapped onigiri (it's a specialty of the area of Japan that I'm from). Basically the rice ball is wrapped in a thin layer of meat (usually very fatty beef or pork belly), then it's panfried and glazed with a sweet and savory sauce. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Thomas, you're welcome to try, but you'll probably have a hard time getting the onigiri to hold together. Short grain rice has a much higher ratio of amylopectin relative to amylose compared to medium or long grain rice. This makes the starch more sticky so the grains of rice hold together.
@@NoRecipes if i cook sushi rice in a rice cooker, should I cook like how most asians cook their rice in their rice cooker using the line of the finger as a measurement?
@@PlyGameInMY0337 Does your rice cooker have marker lines? Most rice cookers in japan have numbered lines marking how much water to add per rice cooker cup of rice. I don't recommend using the finger method as everyone has different lengths of fingers and the water level will vary depending on the diameter of the pot.
That probably depends on the type of BBQ sauce you were thinking. Carolina BBQ sauce would probably be too sour and wet. A Kansas-city style sauce would probably work best amongst American BBQ sauces, but if you wanna stick with asian flavors I'd recommend using yakiniku sauce.
@@noahhunt8575 Hi Noah, my guess is that onigiri are usually made with your hands and this is how it usually turns out if you do it this way. Mass produced onigiri(like at a convenience store) are made with a press and tend to have flatter sides. The rounder sides are probably meant to mimic the handmade look. Just my guess.
Looks yummy! I wonder if these will freeze after cooking, if so would I use a microwave to thaw? They look very portable, great snack for work. I wonder if they would hold together if I grill a riceball made of the innards of omurice? Thanks for another wonderful video!
Thanks! You can freeze rice, but it needs to be reheated or the rice will be crunchy due to the retrogradation of the rice. That being said, you'll lose the crispness on the exterior of this if you freeze it and reheat it. Regular onigiri will probably work better. As for the innards of omurice, the oil used to fry the chicken rice will make the balls fall apart. You can use the same method as this but use ketchup instead of soy sauce and then fill the onigiri with cooked chicken in the center. Then you can wrap it in my Usuyaki Tamago for an Omuonigiri.
I love making rice but I notice that when I rinse my rice the water never really gets clear or nearly clean even after rinsing and draining several times. Is there something I’m missing? 😅
Hi Michelle, it doesn't have to be clear, you just don't want the water looking like milk.The number of times you have to wash it are function of the size of the bowl you use and how much rice you add. For my 5 cup rice cooker, if I'm cooking 1 cup it only takes me 2 changes of water. If I'm doing 2 cups I usually do 3-4 changes. Also be sure to agitate the water and rice the first few times as this will quickly remove the surface starch so you don't continue to have starch coming off with each rinse.
Hi Aliyah, flour contains a lot of other components other than starch and is not a good substitute. Can you get your hands on tapioca starch, arrow root starch or corn starch? None of these will be exactly the same as potato starch, but they will be much closer than flour.
Hi Lucas, yakionigiri can be made on a grill, but the method I present in the video is specifically geared towards stove-top use so unless you want to put a frying pan on your grill, you'll probably want to use a different recipe.
@@MysteriousBeingOfLight Hi Amudo, you're going to have to provide a more detailed description of your rice. When you say "instant" is it a just add water kind of thing or is it a quick cook kind of rice? Do know the brand and cultivar of the rice? Usually when the rice isn't sticking together it's because the rice is not part of the japonica subspecies. But "instant rice" sounds sketchy because onigiri needs to be made with freshly cooked rice to hold together. The starches in the rice retrograde over time which makes the rice go from sticky to brittle so if the rice has been precooked or processed in some way, this would explain it.
Hi Areanna, the starches in rice retrograde when chilled (meaning they return to a crystalline form like when the rice is uncooked). This is why refrigerated rice is better used in something like fried rice. Yaki-onigiri is particularly problematic since it loses a lot of moisture while pan-frying it. I would not recommend freezing it. If you do, you'll probably want to recook it as fried rice, or in a porridge.
Cornstarch tends to be crunchier than potato starch when fried. It will work, but you'll probably want to make an even lighter coating than I used so the outside doesn't get too hard.
Hi Paula, I'm sorry to hear they fell apart. There are a couple possibilities for this. 1) What kind of rice did you use? Onigiri needs to be made with Japanese short-grain rice otherwise it will not stick together properly. 2) The balls may not have been packed tightly enough. For yakionigiri you need to compress the rice much more than you would for normal onigiri to keep it from falling apart 3) If the balls fell apart when you tried to flip them, it could be because they were sticking to the pan. If this is the case, you may need a new non-stick pan. If you tell me a bit more about when and how they broke apart, I might be able to narrow in on the cause a little better.
@@NoRecipes hi! Thanks for answering ! I used short grain but not japanese short grain haha. It was my first time making any type of onigiri so I compressed the best I could and they were okay until I put them on the pan, then after some minutes the majority of them falled apart when I touched them to flip it :(. Maybe it's really the type of rice ! I will try with japanese rice next time. Thank you for your advice!
@@Bagassu777 That may have been the issue. Japanese short grain rice is very sticky and should stick together even without much effort, but to keep it held together when you fry it, it needs to be pretty solidly compressed. You might want to consider picking a small plastic mold you can use for this, which will make it easier to create a shape with 2 flat sides so it makes good contact with the pan.
Desculpe, não sei português, mas aqui está uma tradução dos ingredientes: 160 gramas de arroz de grão curto japonês (1 chávena de panela de arroz ou 3/4 chávena US) 1 copo de água dos EUA 2 colheres de sopa de molho de soja 1 colher de chá de fécula de batata 1 colher de sopa de óleo vegetal 1 colher de sopa de manteiga
Hi Elula, sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. There are a few possibilities here 1) What kind of rice did you use? Some brands of rice sold as "Japanese" or "sushi rice" are actually medium grain which aren't as sticky as Japanese short grain rice and could result in the onigiri falling apart 2) Was the onigiri as brown on one side as in the video? If you it's not browned for long enough it doesn't form a thick enough crust to hold the rice together 3) Did you use an onigiri press or shape it by hand? Yaki onigiri needs to be much more compacted than a regular one otherwise it might fall apart. 4) Because the rice is pretty sticky the onigiri will stick together if placed too close to each other and it can stick to the flipping implement. you use. I used tongs with a very small surface area to keep them from sticking, but if you're using regular tongs, you may want to oil them first. I know a failure can be frustrating, but I hope these help you narrow down the issue and fix it for next time😀 Let me know if you have any more questions.
@@SuperCzarownica It's more an issue about the variety of rice than the quality. Shortgrain rice has a higher ratio of amylopectin relative to amylose. These are the two types of starches and amylopectin has a structure that makes it more sticky than amylose when cooked. If you have the problem again, please take a photo and post a link to it here. That should make it easier to pinpoint what the issue is.
I used to own a Zoji when I lived in the US, it was the best rice cooker I could get there, but we have a much larger selection of rice cookers here, and this one makes the best rice I've ever had come out of a rice cooker. Despite what Uncle Roger says, in Japan properly made rice is made in a donabe (clay pot). This rice cooker makes rice that tastes like it was made in a donabe.
Hey Mark,you're a genius.I made these with scallions,browned sesame seed,and a little ginger cooked in the rice.Tried frying them in sesame oil then wrapping the sides in nori strips.They were so good I can't believe they're not a controlled substance.
Thanks Kevin. Yours sounds like a very flavorful indeed, thanks for sharing!
I like that u have the ingredients under the video. Hate all the new short style videos of other channels without ingredient list
I'm glad to hear it was helpful. I also have a link in the video description to a full webpage that includes more details about the ingredients and cooking process than I can convey in a short video.
lovely video with straight forward instructions. I appreciate your good attitude
Thank you, I'm happy to hear it was helpful!
Just made these and they were delicious! They ended up being a bit saltier from my tears knowing I had to share them haha. I had them with some miso and leftover Nigerian meatballs.
These were the BEST yaki onigiri I've ever made/had. Thank you so, so much!
Wow that was quick! Thank you for trying it out, I'm glad you enjoyed them, though next time I guess you'll need to make a double batch 😆 I've never had Nigerian meatballs, what makes them different?
@@NoRecipes
Lol, I definitely will have to do that.
Well one of the ways that they're different is by using ground goat or lamb instead of ground beef. Also our tomato sauce is thick and uses habanero, onions, garlic and both pureed and chopped tomatoes. In a bit of oil you'd fry and reduce the tomato mixture.
In the mixings using coarsely ground peanuts, lemongrass, Nigerian basil, orange zest, habanero peppers, minced onions and garlic, ginger powder and salt. My mom would sometimes use finely grated yam or taro that has been par-cooked in it too.
Mix everything together and make them into almond shaped mounds and let them cook in the sauce. It's super delicious haha.
There are different ways of doing it but that's one of the base recipes.
@@theonetruesarauniya Wow that sounds amazing Sara, thank you for sharing. I'm curious what Nigerian basil tastes like now. It's a little hard to find goat here in Japan, but I can get lamb, so I'm going to pick some up the next time I'm at the international market and try this. I love dishes like this that have regional variations almost anywhere you go in the world.
@@NoRecipes Oh wow! I hope you like them!
I actually forgot to mention that there is lemongrass in it too. Lamb is an amazing swap. I've also used ground beef and pork to do it too and it came out fine.
Oh! If habaneros or scotch bonnets aren't available, birdseye chilis work well also. Actually, please adjust on your preferred spice level of course.
If you ever want to play around with West African or Notth African/ cuisine let me know haha.
Hope you have a great day!
@@theonetruesarauniya Thanks! I had no idea lemongrass was used in African cuisine. I love North African cuisine (Egyptian/Tunisian/Moroccan), but I really don't know anything about West African cuisine, would love to learn more someday!
Just tried out this recipe, and filled the onigiri with left over shredded chicken and it was TANTALIZING. My taste buds are still trembling. I added furikake seasoning to the sides, and wrapped with nori *chef's kiss*
Didn't have potato starch on hand, subbed with corn starch and the cronch was literally audible. Best tip ever, thank you so much for this amazing recipe! ~
Hi Stephanie, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! Great idea stuffing it with some chicken👍🏽
Can you even imagine my delight that I have all of these ingredients at home (since I saw I can substitute potatoe starch for less corn starch).
I'm so thrilled to try this. Might have to wait for my husband to be out for a while, he keeps annoying me by being nosy whenever I try a new recipe.
The secret is to never let him know what's in it, else he gets really biased on not liking it before even trying.
If he doesn't know, he most times ends up loving it ;)
Good luck! We have a family member in our household that's the same way😆
For those wondering, you can sub corn starch and get the lovely golden result shown! Just use an incredibly light dusting (even less than shown) because it can get super overpowering super fast. 😅 I bet potato starch is milder than corn.
Hi Kitty, that makes sense, thanks for posting your observation. Cornstarch makes for a more crunchy crust whereas potato starch is more crispy (kinda like the difference between corn chips and potato chips). That's probably why a thinner layer works better.
8:58 - Mallard browning: So this is why it tastes so good.
Just made it today for hubby breakfast and we loved it so much! A very simple breakfast with a wonderful taste. Thank you for the recipe :)
Hi Septia, I’m glad to hear you both enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
OH I know what I'm putting in my lunchbox tomorrow for work!
Thanks Mark!
You're welcome! I hope you enjoy them!
I'm trying it this weekend, it looks so good
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!
Oh the rice are so cute! 🤣. Amazing
Thanks!
This brings back memories. Use to eat them on Jan 1 and amazake at a shrine. I’m going to have to make this. Love them. Thank you for sharing.
You're welcome Jen! Sounds like a good taste memory😀
This looks really good!!
Thanks Bryce!
Mark never disappoints! Grade A content
Thanks Andrew😀
OH HELL YA, Thank you so much for doing this, I LOVE THESE!
You're welcome! It's great to see someone get so excited over grilled rice😆
I really love Onigiri!!! Great video!
Thanks Priscillia!
👌👌👌It's look like delicious👌👌👌
Thanks!
Potato starch! GENIUS! I can’t Wait to make these! 🤗🤗
Thanks😄 It's a pretty common method in Japan to get stuff to stick together, though I've never seen it being used for onigiri😆
@@NoRecipes is there a substitute for potato starch?
I just love this Chef and his cool personality
Those yummy rice balls I must try them
Thank Haydee! I hope you enjoy these😀
This looks delicious! I bet my kiddo would devour these!
Thanks Crystal, and welcome to the channel! I hope you kiddo enjoys, it's a favorite in our household.
made these with oyster sauce (since soy sauce has finished) + a chicken mayo filling (didn't have tuna lol) and they turned out so good. the crispy crust was the best, i would recommend frying the side parts of the onigiri as well if you want it to hold it's shape and crumble less while you eat it. thank you for this recipe. 💗
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Adding a filling will make it crumble as it has less internal structural integrity, but browning the edges is a good way to add more structure to the exterior to compensate. 👍🏽
Thank you, it's delicious :)
Greetings from Poland
You’re welcome, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Watching this while eating my yaki onigiri I ordered from japanese restaurant
I hope you have a chance to try this out sometime 😉
I will mix my rice with ketchup to counter the richness of the oil and butter! thankyou for the recipe!
You're welcome! That sounds like a great combo, kinda like omurice, but in a yakionigiri😀
@@NoRecipes it was delightful 🌸 kagome paired so well with it.
@@ichieyamato I'm glad to hear it!
This black plate is dope
Thanks! picked it up on Kappabashi street in Tokyo.
It s look really delicious ....a new fan from algeria 🇩🇿
Thank you and welcome to the channel!
This looks amazing :O I’m going to try to make it for me and my parents, thank you so much for making this tutorial
You're welcome! I hope you and your family enjoy it!
Thank you Sir your videos are always helpful. Thank you Sir 🙏🏻
You're welcome! I'm glad to hear it!
Simple and yummy!
Thanks Yilun!
I've been eagerly awaiting this one! They look so delicious. Thanks for the great tutorial and for figuring out how to make them extra crispy. And, butter!😋🧈🍙
Thanks Kathy, will post my making-of log to Patreon later, but this took a ton of experimentation to get right.
Thank you 😊
You're welcome!
Thanks, I need to definitely try this
You're welcome! Hope you enjoy!
These are the best jelly filled doughnuts I have ever seen! haha
😂 Best (mis)translation ever.
@@NoRecipes I've got SO MUCH stuff to say on this subject...and NONE of it is suitable for public display! LOL! hahahahahaha
Ohhh, cheese. I will buy the ingredients this weekend. Thank you 🙏😊
It's pretty ridiculous with a hunk of melty cheese in the center😆 Hope you enjoy it!
Wow👍🏻👌🌝 this is wonderful
Thanks June!😀
I made these today but wasn’t able to achieve the beautiful results of Mark Sensei. One fell apart completely! Not bad because it meant we had a whole lot of nice crispy rice to eat. Maybe our butter has a stronger flavor here so next time I would avoid using it. That said, they were really yummy!
Hi johninitaly, there are a couple of possibilities. The biggest one is the type of rice. Did you use Japanese shortgrain rice? Other types of rice such as medium grain will not stick together as well and will fall apart more easily. The second possibility is that the rice wasn't compacted enough. Normally with onigiri and sushi you don't want to press the rice together too much, but for yakionigiri you want to squeeze it together pretty tightly so it's less likely to fall apart. The final possibility is that it fell apart from being too rough with the handling when you were moving it around. Hope this helps! And yes, yaki onigiri that's fallen part does have the benefit of additional surface area to crisp so I'm glad to hear you were able to enjoy it anyway😀
@@NoRecipes Thank you for answering! Yes, I used Japanese rice but I am not sure it is a good quality one and I am quite sure I made ALL the mistakes, including the ones you mention. It was my first try so next time will be better for sure!
@@johninitaly You're welcome! Please check the package to make sure it says "shortgrain rice" a lot of companies label their products as "Japanese rice" or "sushi rice", but it's actually medium grain rice grown in other countries. The type of rice is quite important as it effects the stickiness of the rice. You can read more about the different kinds of rice here: norecipes.com/cook-japanese-short-grain-rice/ Hopefully your next try goes better and I'm always here to help if you need it!
I just tried this. Instead of 2 TBSP soy sauce (I only had regular) I used I TBSP soy sauce plus 1 TBSP water with 1/4 tsp hondashi dissolved in it plus a pinch of salt. Very nice umami flavor in the result, though when I find the recommended soy sauce I want to make it again following the recipe. Great texture and toasty quality in the final product. I will make this more regularly. I wonder about substituting the butter with a small brushing of toasted sesame seed oil. Also I am wondering about the idea of possibly mixing some shiitake mushroom powder with the rice. I grate dried shiitake mushroom with a microplane.
By "Japanese soy sauce" I just mean regular Kikkoman (v.s. Chinese or Indonesian soy sauce, which tends to be thicker and darker), there's no dashi in it. Though using a dashi-based mentsuyu would be a great way to add a little extra oomph to the seasoning. As for using sesame oil, that's a great idea, however you're going to lose out on the umami that the butter adds. As for shiitake powder, if you like the flavor of shiitake it will definitely work well with the butter and soy sauce. I actually have a recipe coming soon to Bento Expo(should air sometime this month or next) where I make Yakionigiri stuffed into a shiitake mushroom and it's glazed with miso butter.
@@NoRecipes Thank you for taking the time to reply. I realize now I made a mental mistake about the soy sauce. I have Kikkoman Organic but I also read a recipe calling for Usukuchi soy sauce and confused it with this recipe. I think it was for tamagoyaki which I was also thinking about today. I realize with either soy sauce there is no dashi involved, I just thought it might add umami and result in a little lighter color onigiri.
@@rickclark1372 Ah gotcha! Usukuchi will work, but it has a higher sodium content (2-3% higher), so you'll need to reduce the amount slightly. It will also get you a lighter color, but Yaki-onigiri is meant to be a little brown.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome!
Hi! These came out wonderfully! Where did you get your onigiri mold?
Thanks! The molds I used for this were from a 100 yen shop and they're not great. I've switched to this a different one that's available here: en.bentoandco.com/collections/marc-matsumotos-favorite-products?ref=norecipes It's sturdier and the surface is non-stick.
Wooow 🍚 balls I'm going to try it they look like a dessert 😁 thanks 🙏
😆 I think you'd be pretty surprised if you ate it expecting a dessert. Reminds me of the first time I tried Vegemite, thinking it was chocolate.
@@NoRecipes 😁😁 really ok no dessert taste 😁I got u.
@@NoRecipes 😲😝😂
Thank you for sharing ♡
You're welcome Jesseca!
Great video!
Thanks Agustín, hope I was able to answer your question about the filling. The butter and soy sauce give it a lot of flavor so it doesn't really need a filling, but this is good with any of the traditional onigiri fillings, and you can also put stuff like cheese in it.
I know what I will be fixing me. And I have all of the ingredients including the leaves or nori. I also have the onigiri molds as well. So I'm set to go probably about tomorrow.
Thanks for trying this, I hope you enjoy it!
Wonderful video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you!
Im so excited to try this! Question, can i swap the potato starch for cornstarch?
Yes, however cornstarch will create a more crunchy crust than the crispy crust you get with potato starch. Some people have noted that if you're using cornstarch it's better to go with an even lighter dusting that what I've done with potato starch. I hope you enjoy it!
Super video! I applauded for £5.00 👏👏
Wow thanks Daniel I'm very happy to hear you found it so helpful! Have a great week ahead!
I just look this chef.
amazing video
Thanks 🙏🏽
Great recipe, and seems easy enough to do, will try it with mozzarella cheese stuffed inside 😬
Thanks! These are pretty amazing with melty cheese!
This guy is to happy
What can I say, I enjoy what I do😄
Hello, being a student and a bit more on a budget is it possible to use more a common long grain grain rice for Yaki Onigri? If so, is there a process that I need to do to make it work?
Long grain rice will not work as the rice won't stick together. You can read more about why here: norecipes.com/cook-japanese-short-grain-rice/
@@NoRecipes Thank you! In that case, is there a more inexpensive short grain rice that you would recommend? Those that could be found in U.S. markets would be helpful.
@@rsaved9218 It won't be quite as sticky as short grain rice, but you could try using a medium grain rice such as the ones sold under the brand names Nishiki or Kokuho Rose. Both of these are produced in the US so they should be a little less expensive than imported rice.
Well now you’ve done it - just kidding. My daughter and I both adore onigiri, and so I make them quite often. My husband and son are indifferent - how anyone could be all “meh” about the deliciousness that is a properly made onigiri I will never understand. I make the flavors my daughter and I like best - mainly umeboshi, tuna salad, or salmon. But I just made your grilled onigiri using your potato starch and butter technique and now we are disagreeing. I’m totally in love with the crispy texture and the caramelized taste of the cooked soy sauce, but my daughter much prefers the soft textured plain version. So now I’ll have to make both every time I make them. It’s really not a big deal, and I’m still learning how to pan fry them without having them fall apart on me. I got much better with the second batch, as I controlled the heat better and didn’t move them about too much while they formed that delicious crispy surface. Thanks again! This was a fun one to try.
😆 Perhaps I can get your husband and son into the fray with a meat-wrapped onigiri (it's a specialty of the area of Japan that I'm from). Basically the rice ball is wrapped in a thin layer of meat (usually very fatty beef or pork belly), then it's panfried and glazed with a sweet and savory sauce. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend!
can i use any other type of rice instead of sushi rice? My family doesnt eat sushi rice that often, we usually eat jasmine rice or mid grain rice.
Hi Thomas, you're welcome to try, but you'll probably have a hard time getting the onigiri to hold together. Short grain rice has a much higher ratio of amylopectin relative to amylose compared to medium or long grain rice. This makes the starch more sticky so the grains of rice hold together.
@@NoRecipes if i cook sushi rice in a rice cooker, should I cook like how most asians cook their rice in their rice cooker using the line of the finger as a measurement?
@@PlyGameInMY0337 Does your rice cooker have marker lines? Most rice cookers in japan have numbered lines marking how much water to add per rice cooker cup of rice. I don't recommend using the finger method as everyone has different lengths of fingers and the water level will vary depending on the diameter of the pot.
Wowza I will definitely make these , yum ! Thank You 😎
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them!
Would these go well with bbq sauce on the side I wonder?
That probably depends on the type of BBQ sauce you were thinking. Carolina BBQ sauce would probably be too sour and wet. A Kansas-city style sauce would probably work best amongst American BBQ sauces, but if you wanna stick with asian flavors I'd recommend using yakiniku sauce.
thankS for inovation ....
You're welcome!
I have tapioca starch. Will that work?
I Ioana, I haven't tried it, but I think it should work.
It’s the Onigiri used in Fena: Pirate Princess
Haha ha, that’s exactly the onigiri mold I have. I bought from a Japanese style mart so that’s probably why.
It's a pretty common design. I think I picked this one up at a 100 yen shop.
@@NoRecipes one thing I wonder about them is that they shape the sides to be rounded instead of flat. Do you know why they do that?
@@noahhunt8575 Hi Noah, my guess is that onigiri are usually made with your hands and this is how it usually turns out if you do it this way. Mass produced onigiri(like at a convenience store) are made with a press and tend to have flatter sides. The rounder sides are probably meant to mimic the handmade look. Just my guess.
You look like the dude that played the dentist in the movies Problem Child🤭 he is so funny. So seeing your face and smile made me laugh
Hihi 🌹🥰
😄 That's the first time I've heard that, but thanks! 😅
@@NoRecipes hahaha😊it's a huge compliment🤗😘 you're welcome!
Looks yummy! I wonder if these will freeze after cooking, if so would I use a microwave to thaw? They look very portable, great snack for work. I wonder if they would hold together if I grill a riceball made of the innards of omurice? Thanks for another wonderful video!
Thanks! You can freeze rice, but it needs to be reheated or the rice will be crunchy due to the retrogradation of the rice. That being said, you'll lose the crispness on the exterior of this if you freeze it and reheat it. Regular onigiri will probably work better. As for the innards of omurice, the oil used to fry the chicken rice will make the balls fall apart. You can use the same method as this but use ketchup instead of soy sauce and then fill the onigiri with cooked chicken in the center. Then you can wrap it in my Usuyaki Tamago for an Omuonigiri.
@@NoRecipes Great info, thank you!
I love making rice but I notice that when I rinse my rice the water never really gets clear or nearly clean even after rinsing and draining several times. Is there something I’m missing? 😅
Hi Michelle, it doesn't have to be clear, you just don't want the water looking like milk.The number of times you have to wash it are function of the size of the bowl you use and how much rice you add. For my 5 cup rice cooker, if I'm cooking 1 cup it only takes me 2 changes of water. If I'm doing 2 cups I usually do 3-4 changes. Also be sure to agitate the water and rice the first few times as this will quickly remove the surface starch so you don't continue to have starch coming off with each rinse.
you listed butter in the ingredients, are we to fry the onigiri in with the butter and oil, or add it to the hot rice with soy sauce???
Please see the video at 7:31
Can you use flour I don't have potato starch
Hi Aliyah, flour contains a lot of other components other than starch and is not a good substitute. Can you get your hands on tapioca starch, arrow root starch or corn starch? None of these will be exactly the same as potato starch, but they will be much closer than flour.
@@NoRecipes I will try getting corn starch
What are those things he uses to flip the food
They're tongs made by AUX.
doone full support
I can hear his smile...
That's probably because I am 😄 www.discovermagazine.com/mind/you-can-hear-a-smile-when-you-do-youll-smile-back
Does this recipe work on a bbq?
Hi Lucas, yakionigiri can be made on a grill, but the method I present in the video is specifically geared towards stove-top use so unless you want to put a frying pan on your grill, you'll probably want to use a different recipe.
@@NoRecipes thanks for the reply! ☺️ That was fast 😁 greetings from Brazil ❤️
@@lucasvivaldo2101 Greetings from Tokyo!
I have an issue where my rice balls are not clinging togethyer
Hi Amudo, what kind of rice are you using?
@@NoRecipes I used Japanese rice the instant one
@@MysteriousBeingOfLight Hi Amudo, you're going to have to provide a more detailed description of your rice. When you say "instant" is it a just add water kind of thing or is it a quick cook kind of rice? Do know the brand and cultivar of the rice? Usually when the rice isn't sticking together it's because the rice is not part of the japonica subspecies. But "instant rice" sounds sketchy because onigiri needs to be made with freshly cooked rice to hold together. The starches in the rice retrograde over time which makes the rice go from sticky to brittle so if the rice has been precooked or processed in some way, this would explain it.
@@NoRecipes In France we have instant rice in the supermarket it's from Japan and its Japonica yes
@@NoRecipes The name is Akafuji instant rice
My problem is that every time I freeze them and reheat them in the microwave they end up not being soft on the inside anymore any thoughts anyone? Ty
Hi Areanna, the starches in rice retrograde when chilled (meaning they return to a crystalline form like when the rice is uncooked). This is why refrigerated rice is better used in something like fried rice. Yaki-onigiri is particularly problematic since it loses a lot of moisture while pan-frying it. I would not recommend freezing it. If you do, you'll probably want to recook it as fried rice, or in a porridge.
I wish I could show you all my pan full of grilled rice. There one rice ball left intact 🥲
Hi Erik, did the rice stick to the pan or did the balls fall apart?
I'm here again! 😅 Can I sibstitute cornstarch instead of potato starch?
Cornstarch tends to be crunchier than potato starch when fried. It will work, but you'll probably want to make an even lighter coating than I used so the outside doesn't get too hard.
I tried to do it but the balls breaked with the heat... :(
Hi Paula, I'm sorry to hear they fell apart. There are a couple possibilities for this. 1) What kind of rice did you use? Onigiri needs to be made with Japanese short-grain rice otherwise it will not stick together properly. 2) The balls may not have been packed tightly enough. For yakionigiri you need to compress the rice much more than you would for normal onigiri to keep it from falling apart 3) If the balls fell apart when you tried to flip them, it could be because they were sticking to the pan. If this is the case, you may need a new non-stick pan. If you tell me a bit more about when and how they broke apart, I might be able to narrow in on the cause a little better.
@@NoRecipes hi! Thanks for answering ! I used short grain but not japanese short grain haha. It was my first time making any type of onigiri so I compressed the best I could and they were okay until I put them on the pan, then after some minutes the majority of them falled apart when I touched them to flip it :(. Maybe it's really the type of rice ! I will try with japanese rice next time. Thank you for your advice!
@@Bagassu777 That may have been the issue. Japanese short grain rice is very sticky and should stick together even without much effort, but to keep it held together when you fry it, it needs to be pretty solidly compressed. You might want to consider picking a small plastic mold you can use for this, which will make it easier to create a shape with 2 flat sides so it makes good contact with the pan.
Gostaria que tivesse tradução 😞...
Desculpe, não sei português, mas aqui está uma tradução dos ingredientes:
160 gramas de arroz de grão curto japonês (1 chávena de panela de arroz ou 3/4 chávena US)
1 copo de água dos EUA
2 colheres de sopa de molho de soja
1 colher de chá de fécula de batata
1 colher de sopa de óleo vegetal
1 colher de sopa de manteiga
@@NoRecipes thanks 👍😁
@@NoRecipes 😋❤️
All goes very well as in your video until I turn it over in the pan. When turned over, it disintegrates.
Hi Elula, sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. There are a few possibilities here 1) What kind of rice did you use? Some brands of rice sold as "Japanese" or "sushi rice" are actually medium grain which aren't as sticky as Japanese short grain rice and could result in the onigiri falling apart 2) Was the onigiri as brown on one side as in the video? If you it's not browned for long enough it doesn't form a thick enough crust to hold the rice together 3) Did you use an onigiri press or shape it by hand? Yaki onigiri needs to be much more compacted than a regular one otherwise it might fall apart. 4) Because the rice is pretty sticky the onigiri will stick together if placed too close to each other and it can stick to the flipping implement. you use. I used tongs with a very small surface area to keep them from sticking, but if you're using regular tongs, you may want to oil them first. I know a failure can be frustrating, but I hope these help you narrow down the issue and fix it for next time😀 Let me know if you have any more questions.
@@NoRecipes thank You for advice. Maybe rice was not good enouh becuse 2) yes, 3) yes, 4) not too close. I'll keep on trying.
@@SuperCzarownica It's more an issue about the variety of rice than the quality. Shortgrain rice has a higher ratio of amylopectin relative to amylose. These are the two types of starches and amylopectin has a structure that makes it more sticky than amylose when cooked. If you have the problem again, please take a photo and post a link to it here. That should make it easier to pinpoint what the issue is.
5:15 (STRUGGLE!!)
😆 yea it didn't want to cooperate.
No I am mad at you... you dont even have a Zojirushi Rice Cooker lol
I used to own a Zoji when I lived in the US, it was the best rice cooker I could get there, but we have a much larger selection of rice cookers here, and this one makes the best rice I've ever had come out of a rice cooker. Despite what Uncle Roger says, in Japan properly made rice is made in a donabe (clay pot). This rice cooker makes rice that tastes like it was made in a donabe.
@@NoRecipes I was making a joke No lol don't worry
@@NoRecipes But why did you bring Uncle Roger?? lol
@@LewdGeek He often talks about how making it in the rice cooker is better than on the stove.