Tuna Mayo Onigiri (Printer-friendly)
Creamy tuna-filled Japanese rice balls, ideal for portable lunches or snacks. Ready in under 40 minutes with simple pantry ingredients.
# What you'll need:
→ Rice
01 - 2 cups Japanese short-grain rice
02 - 2½ cups water
→ Filling
03 - 1 can (5 oz) tuna in water, drained
04 - 3 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie preferred)
05 - 1 teaspoon soy sauce
06 - ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, optional
→ Assembly
07 - ½ teaspoon salt
08 - 6 small sheets nori (seaweed), cut into strips
# Method:
01 - Rinse the Japanese short-grain rice under cold running water several times, agitating gently with your hands, until the water runs nearly clear. Drain thoroughly to remove excess starch.
02 - Combine the rinsed rice with 2½ cups of water in a rice cooker or heavy-bottomed pot. Cook according to manufacturer instructions. Once done, let the rice steam and rest for 10 minutes with the lid on.
03 - While the rice rests, drain the canned tuna well and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the Japanese mayonnaise, soy sauce, and black pepper. Fold together until the mixture is creamy and evenly combined.
04 - Once the rice is warm but cool enough to handle comfortably, wet your hands lightly with water. Rub a small pinch of salt across your palms — this prevents sticking and lightly seasons the outer rice.
05 - Scoop roughly ½ cup of warm rice and flatten it into a disc in the cup of your palm. Place a generous spoonful of the tuna mayo filling in the center. Gently fold the rice around the filling, cupping your hands to shape it into a triangle or oval. Press firmly but gently to seal without compacting the rice.
06 - Repeat the shaping process with the remaining rice and filling to make 6 onigiri total. Wrap a strip of nori around the base or center of each onigiri. Serve immediately or pack for later.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The filling comes together in under two minutes with pantry staples you probably already have.
- Shaping onigiri by hand is oddly therapeutic and makes you feel connected to generations of Japanese home cooks.
- They travel beautifully in a lunchbox and taste fine at room temperature, which makes them perfect for busy mornings.
02 -
- If the rice is too hot when you try to shape it, the grains will mash instead of holding their shape, so wait until it is warm but comfortable to touch.
- Wetting your hands between every single onigiri is essential because once your palms dry out, the rice sticks aggressively and the shapes fall apart.
03 -
- Use a piece of plastic wrap draped over your palm as a shaping aid if you are struggling with the hands-on method, because it gives you more control over the triangle edges.
- Toast the nori strips for a few seconds in a dry skillet before wrapping and you will be rewarded with a noticeably louder crunch.