Onigiri with Bacon, Egg & Peas

Japanee savoury rice balls, locally known as onigiri or o-musubi could lay claim to the title of the world's oldest convenience food. History shows that the practice of shaping rice into balls and wrapping it in dried nori seaweed goes back over a thousand years. The fact that onigiri have stood the test of time and are still one of the most popular foods in Japan today shows what a clever little invention they truly are. Think about it for a moment and you'll understand how ingenious it is - take your national staple, ie Japanese rice. Combine that with smaller amounts of vegetable and maybe protein (in this recipe's case, scrambled egg, bacon and peas.) Then, wrap everything in a mineral rick layer of dried seaweed. And voila, you have a take anywhere, eat anywhere little ball of goodness. No wonder the idea has stuck!

There are several ways to produce an onigiri rice ball. Traditionally, onigiri were moulded by hand and this technique is still handed down today. If moulding an onigiri rice ball with your hands sounds a bit messy, then you can also (as I do here) use an onigiri mould. There are very easy to find online and one of the cheapest and handiest aids if you are into your Japanese recipes and cooking on a regular basis.

When it comes to what to put into your musubi rice ball, the sky is, as they say, the limit. Look online and you'll find lots of great ideas. In this recipe, I use three fillings - scrambled egg seasoned with soy sauce, some salty streaky bacon, fried until its nice and crispy and some garden peas. I find that makes for a nice combination of flavours, some useful nutritional value and a nice, colourful effect as well!

From start to finish, you can have these ready in about 15 - 20 minutes. As they are wrapped in dried nori sheet, they are best eaten straight from the counter but they will also last well enough to make a nice lunch or picnic item.

If this has got you in an onigiri rice ball frame of mind, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Onigiri with Bacon, Eggs and Peas or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below.

Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.

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ingredients:

(makes 5 - 6 onigiri)

150g / 5.3oz Japanese rice

2 rashers streaky bacon

1 medium egg

a dash of soy sauce

3 tbsp frozen green peas

a little salt to taste

2 sheets of nori seaweed

1 onigiri mould

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how to:

rinse your Japanese rice a few times until the water clear.  cook either in a rice cooker or in a saucepan.

next, prepare your fillings: fry the bacon rashers until crispy, then transfer to a plate

break the egg into a small bowl. add a dash of soy sauce and mix.

pour into a same hot frying pan you used for the bacon. swirl the egg around in the frying pan using chopsticks or a spatula and produce a rough scrambled egg. transfer to a large bowl.

bring a small pan of water to the boil. add a little salt and the peas. cook for 3 minutes. drain and add to the bowl.

slice the rashers of bacon finely and add them to the bowl too

add your cooked rice. sprinkle generously with salt. gently mix everything together using spatula or a large spoon in a slicing motion to avoid mashing the rice

cut the 2 sheets of nori into 6 strips

now, use the rice ball mould to make your onigiri. dip the mould in water before you start. this will stop the rice sticking to the mould

fill the mould up with your rice mixture with a dessert spoon. when the mould is full, gently press the lid into the mould

remove the onigiri mould lid. invert the mould, then give the bottom a firm tap or two. the onigiri should pop out onto your plate

wrap each onigiri in a strip of nori

repeat until you have 5 or 6 onigiri

onigiri are best eaten soon after making them but they also make a great lunch box or picnic treat too

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