If you read my blog, you'll know by now that I am a big fan of onigirazu - rice and nori wraps that you can make in 10 mins and eat for lunch, eat on the go or just enjoy as a snack when your body needs a quick refuel. What you choose to fill your onigirazu with really has no limit - I like to have a little food fusion fun and fill mine with classic food combinations - so, the other day I made a "Full English" onigirazu and a little while ago a BLT onigirazu. These are great fun to create, (kids like to do it too!) easy to prepare and tasty to eat - what could be better?
The ingredients for my Cheese & Ham Onigirazu are fairly basic - all you need to get started for
each onigirazu is a sheet of dried nori seaweed, some cooked rice, cheese, some sliced ham and some leaf vegetable - I chose rocket for my recipe but spinach or mixed leaves would work well too. Oh, and you'll need some mayo. I used some slices of Red Leicester cheese but a mature cheddar would be equally good - generally stronger cheese flavours work better in an onigirazu.
What tips do I have to make the most of this?
First, remember that your nori sheet will absorb any moisture very quickly, so you need to keep wetter foods out of your recipe. for example, if you want to put tomato into your onigirazu that's fine but remember to deseed the slices - otherwise your nori will get wet and may disintegrate when you reach the wrapping stage.
Second, don't be tempted to put too much filling into your onigirazu. If you do that, the seaweed may tear when you wrap it and you won't get such a nice looking result.
Third, when you spread your rice on the nori sheet, remember to layer it a little more thinly where the fold in the nori sheet will be - that way you get a nice, clean fold with no risk of bulging or tearing.
I think that's about it. If you think this is a recipe you'd like to try, then either press press Cheese & Ham Onigirazu to watch the video tutorial or scroll down to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is below.
Cheese & Ham Onigirazu
ingredients: (for each onigirazu)
100g cooked Japanese rice (wet weight)*
1 sheet of nori
2 slices of ham
1 slice of cheese (red leicester or a strong cheddar)
a handful of rocket
some mayo
30cm square sheet of greaseproof paper**
*If you don’t have a rice cooker, see my “how to make a perfect Japanese rice in a saucepan” recipe
**You can use clingfilm to wrap your onigirazu but I use greaseproof paper as a better environmental option.
how to:
cut the ham slices in half
place the greaseproof paper on the chopping board, then place the nori on top
using scissors, make a cut in the nori to the centre from the middle of the bottom edge
spread the rice over the right hand half of the nori, leaving a little less rice in the middle as this will help when you fold
next place the ham on the bottom half of the left side of the nori, then the cheese on the top left
pile the rocket onto the cheese and squeeze some mayo over the rocket
now fold the ham onto the cheese, then fold the cheese & ham over the rice, then fold once again downwards to form your first onigirazu
wrap the onigirazu into a parcel using the greaseproof paper & use gentle pressure to create a uniform shape
cut your onigirazu in half with a sharp knife
happy wrapping! kurumi XXXX.
Comments