Prawn Tempura Musubi Rice Balls - Onigiri
- Kurumi Hayter
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
This recipe combines two of Japan's most famous foods - the humble musubi rice ball and prawn tempura. In Japan, these little darlings are known as "tenmusu" which as you might have guessed is the shortform of "tempura musubi". They are said to have their origin in Nagoya in the 1950s and have since spread nationwide. It's easy to see why they are so popular. They look cute and they can be eaten as a snack, a canape, a lunch or supper or put in a bento box. They are one of my family's fave ways to eat musubi rice balls. Of course, it goes without saying that they taste great too!
Although the idea of making prawn tempura might seem a little daunting, especially for the beginner, I make this recipe much easier to try by using ready made frozen prawn tempura. Instead of having to make a tempura batter and deep fry the prawns yourself, you simply pop these in the oven for about 20 minutes. Other than the prawn tempura, you'll need some cooked Japanese rice, a few sheets of dried nori seaweed and some soy sauce and a little sugar and salt.
I presented my prawn tempura musubi on a
charming Arita Ware side plate provided by
the Japanese company Utsuwabi. Utsuwabi has a 75-year history of selling beautiful Japanese tableware made in Japan by the artisan potteries for which the country is famous. Utsuwabi has an English language website and can deliver worldwide. If you're thinking of a great Christmas present for the Japanophile in your life, this could be ideal!
If you are interested in fine Japanese tableware, you can go to their website by clicking the following link:
If you fancy trying your hand at making Prawn Tempura Musubi Rice Balls, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Prawn Tempura Musubi Rice Balls - Onigiri. The written recipe is just below.
Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.
ingredients:
(makes 4 Prawn Tempura Musubi Rice Balls)
240g / 8.5oz cooked rice
4 frozen prawn tempura
2 nori seaweed sheets
a few small green salad leaves
a little salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 sheet of cling film
how to:
First, cook your rice. You’ll need 240g / 8.5oz of cooked rice to make 4 prawn tempura rice balls.
Cook 4 frozen prawn tempura in your oven according to the instruction on the packaging.
Fold and cut 2 sheets of nori into 3 strips each. You will only need 4 strips of nori so you can keep the leftovers in an airtight container for use another time.
To make the sauce, combine the sugar and soy sauce and mix well.
When the prawn tempura are ready, remove from the oven. Now you are ready to start making your prawn tempura musubi rice balls.
Lay the square of cling film on a small plate. Spoon 1/4 of the cooked rice onto the middle of the cling film. Give the rice a generous sprinkle of salt.
Place 1 or 2 small leaves onto the rice. Next place one prawn tempura onto the leaf/leaves. Now, gently wrap the rice and prawn tempura in the cling film and mold the rice into a triangle shape around the bottom of the prawn tempura.
Unwrap the cling film. Pour a little of the sweet soy sauce mixture onto the prawn tempura.
Next, take a nori strip and lay it over the musubi rice ball. Turn the rice ball over and remove the cling film. Fold the ends of the nori over and then gently place the finished prawn tempura musubi on a plate. Use a little pressure to flatten the bottom and this will make sure that the nori strip sticks to the bottom of the musubi.
Repeat three more times. Serve immediately.
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