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Writer's pictureKurumi Hayter

Yaki Onigiri in Ochazuke.


This recipe was provided by my good friend Yumiko who lives in Tokyo. It's a combination which on the face of it is sounds quite plain and simple. But this is one of those recipes which is deceptive - the sum of the parts turns out to be a lot greater than the whole.


Translated into English, Yaki Onigiri in Ochazuke reads as pan fried rice balls (the yaki onigiri bit) in a Japanese clear soup (the ochazuke bit). If you've browsed my site or other Japanese cooking sites, you've probably come across both of these foods. Onigiri rice balls are one of Japan's oldest foods and ochazuke isn't far behind. But, you might not have come across a recipe which combines them like this as it's a relatively new idea.


The key to getting this dish right comes down to two things:


First, a really tasty, umami-laden clear ochazuke soup. If you were pushed for time, you could cut a corner and use an instant dashi stock as the base for your ochazuke. But doing this, you would miss out on the wonderfully rich umami flavour that only a made from scratch dashi stock can produce. (On the other hand, if you want to practice getting your pan fried onigiri perfect, you could test tun the recipe using instant dashi stock...) For a hand made dashi stock, you'll need two essential ingredients - dried konbu (which you might know as kelp) and katsuobushi dried bonito flakes. You can buy these online or in many Asian or Japanese food stores. If you like your Japanese food, these should be two essentials in your larder. (As ever, I should add that you don't need to discard the used konbu and katsuobushi - you can use them in other dishes.)


The second key is getting a nicely formed, slightly crispy onigiri rice ball. Forming your onigiri rice ball isn't two difficult. You're looking for a roughly triangular shape that you create by making your hands into a cupped shape. (Take a look at the Youtube tutorial for a visual demo of how to achieve this.) Once the rice balls are formed, they go into a pan and get fried in a little sesame oil that imparts a delicious woody, smoky flavour - a wonderful complement to the umami aromas in the ochazuke clear soup. The other flavours that go into the onigiri come from a mixture of those two Japanese culinary mainstays - soy sauce and mirin. The onigiri get fried long enough just to lightly brown all over - that way you get the lovely crispy on the outside, soft on the inside texture and, most importantly, your onigiri won't fall apart in the soup!


Once you've prepared the ochazuke and onigiri, all that remains is to combine the two in serving balls. I use some garnishes to provide another level of flavour - some celery laves (in Japan, I would use mitsuba but you will find celery more easily), toasted white sesame seeds, some wasabi and a half sheet of dried nori seaweed cut into matchsticks. Then, just enjoy - I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the depth and complexity of flavour in this seemingly simple fare.


If this has got you in an onigiri/ochazuke frame of mind, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Yaki Onigiri in Ochazuke or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below.


Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.


 

ingredients:


(makes 2 servings)


400g / 14oz cooked Japanese rice

10g / 0.35oz dried konbu (kelp)

20g / 0.7oz katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

1 litre / 1.8pints water


for the garnish:


2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds

a few springs of celery leaves (or mitsuba, if you can find / grow it)

1/2 nori sheet (seaweed sheet)

a little wasabi paste


for the onigir rice balls:


2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin


for the dashi stock ochazuke:


1 tsp salt

2 tsp soy sauce


2 tsp sesame oil or vegetable oil


you'll also need a square of cling film and a sheet of kitchen paper or a muslin cloth


 

how to:


first, cook your Japanese rice either using a rice cooker or a sauce pan. you will need 400g / 14oz of cooked rice to make 4 onigiri rice balls


to prepare the dashi stock for the ochazuke clear soup, put the water and dried kelp into a saucepan. leave for 30 minutes for the flavour of the kelp to infuse into the water


meanwhile, fold the 1/2 nori sheet in half, cut into two and then cut into matchsticks and set aside


next combine the 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of mirin in a small bowl. microwave for 1 minute on 600W and set aside. (this technique is called "ni-kiri" in Japanese and is usually done in a saucepan to boil of the alcohol content of the mirin. I use the microwave for speed and convenience. you can skip this step if you wish. PS: don't use a higher microwave setting or it will boil over!)


now back to the dashi stock. when the 30 minutes is up, turn on the heat to low / medium and bring the kelp and water in the saucepan to the boil, then turn off the heat at once. remove the kelp, then add the dried bonito flakes to the saucepan. leave for 2 - 3 minutes


when the bonito flakes have sunk to the bottom of the saucepan, use the sieve with either a muslin cloth or kitchen paper to filter the dashi stock


next, return the dashi stock to the pan. turn the heat to medium. add 1 tsp of salt and 2 tsp of soy sauce and mix briefly before setting aside


now to make your yaki onigiri rice balls:  add roughly half of the soy sauce and mirin mixture to your cooked rice and mix together well


now, take a square of cling film and lay it on your counter top or table.  use a spatula or spoon to divide the rice in the bowl into 4 equal portions


take 1 portion of the rice and place it in the centre of the cling film. use your hands to lightly form the rice into a  triangular shape ball. (be careful not to squash the rice too hard.)  repeat with the other 3 portions of rice to form 4 onigiri


now, pour about 2 tsp of sesame oil into a hot frying pan. place the 4 onigiri in the pan and fry for about 1- 2 minutes until the onigiri are lightly browned. flip the onigir and fry again for about 1 minute until lightly browned on both sides.


next, stand the onigiri on their sides and fry to get them browned and crispy all over


last, flip the onigiri onto their backs again and turn off the heat. pour the remaining soy / mirin mixture over the onigiri


to serve, place 2 yaki onigiri each into two serving bowls. pour the hot ochzuke over the yaki onigiri. add the celery leaves, sesame seeds and a little wasabi paste on the side.


lastly, sprinkle over the nori matchsticks

 


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