Salmon Onigiri
Onigiri are Japan’s rice ‘sandwich’ — easy to pack and eaten with your hands. We fill ours with salted baked salmon and sesame, and season the rice the traditional way, with salt rubbed on the palms. The keys are well-washed rice and shaping it while it is still warm.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 h 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 490 kcal
Ingredients
For the rice
For the filling
Makes: 8 onigiri, 4 servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
200 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 180 °C
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Step 1: Wash and soak the rice
Wash the rice in a bowl of cold water, gently rubbing the grains between your fingers, and pour off the cloudy water 4–5 times until it runs almost clear. Drain, tip into a heavy pan, add the 480 ml water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
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Step 2: Cook the rice
Cover, bring to the boil over high heat, then turn the heat right down and cook for 13 minutes without lifting the lid. Take off the heat and leave covered for another 10 minutes.
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Step 3: Bake the salmon
While the rice cooks, rub the salmon with the salt and leave for 15–20 minutes, then pat dry. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 12–14 minutes until opaque and flaking easily; it should reach at least 63°C (145°F) in the centre.
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Step 4: Make the filling
Flake the salmon with a fork, picking out any bones. Mix with the soy sauce and sesame seeds.
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Step 5: Cool the rice to warm
Turn the rice into a wide bowl and fold it gently with a paddle, cutting rather than mashing. After 5–10 minutes it should be warm but not scalding — cold rice won’t hold together.
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Step 6: Shape the onigiri
Wet your hands and rub a pinch of salt over your palms. Take about 100 g rice, press a hollow into it, add 1 tbsp filling and cover with a little more rice. Press with cupped hands, turning 3–4 times, until you have a firm triangle.
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Step 7: Wrap in nori
Just before eating, wrap a nori strip around the base of each onigiri. Wrapped in advance, the nori softens — still tasty, but no longer crisp.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Classic onigiri aren’t seasoned with vinegar like sushi rice — only salt on the hands. If you want the rice to stay softer in a lunch box, fold 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt through the warm rice.
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Tip
We cook the salmon on purpose: onigiri often sit at room temperature for hours, which is unsafe for raw fish. If you do use raw or lightly cured fish, it must be previously frozen and sold for raw eating, and the onigiri eaten straight away.
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Variation
A popular Japanese filling is salmon mixed with a spoonful of mayonnaise. Canned tuna with mayo or pickled umeboshi plum are great too.
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Storage
Wrap onigiri in cling film and eat within 2 hours if they sit at room temperature; for a packed lunch, carry them in a cool bag with an ice pack. They keep in the fridge for up to a day, but chilled rice hardens, so let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before eating.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 490 kcal | 1,960 kcal |
| Protein | 21 g | 84 g |
| Fat | 9 g | 36 g |
| Carbohydrates | 81 g | 324 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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