Onigiri ( Rice Ball おにぎり)

Onigiri, also known as rice ball, is a Japanese comfort food made from rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and usually wrapped in nori (seaweed).  If a person is new to Japanese cuisine, sometimes onigiri is misunderstood as a type of sushi but it is not. You can put almost anything in an onigiri; try substituting grilled salmon, pickled plums, beef, pork, turkey, or tuna with mayonnaise.

Ingredients:
Cooked Japanese rice (2 rice cooker measuring cups) uncooked rice
Water
Salt
A few sheets of seaweed
1/4 cup bonito shavings OR Katsuobushi
(dry fish flakes)
Salted salmon
Soy sauce

Method:
1.  Wash the rice in a mesh strainer until the water runs clear. Combine washed rice and 4 1/2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer rice until the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rice rest, for 15 minutes to allow the rice to continue to

2.   prepare the fillings. Bake salted salmon at 400F degree in a toaster oven for 25 minutes and break the cooked salmon into flakes.

3.  Moisten katsuobushi bonito flakes(dry fish flakes)with soy sauce.

4.  Combine 1 cup water with the salt in a small bowl. Use this water to dampen hands before handling the rice. Divide the cooked rice into 8 equal portions. Use one portion of rice for each onigiri.

5.  Divide one portion of rice in two. Create a dimple in the rice and fill with a heaping teaspoon of bonito flakes. Cover with the remaining portion of rice and press lightly to enclose filling inside rice ball. Gently press the rice to shape into a triangle. Wrap shaped onigiri with a strip of nori. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat to make a total of 8 onigiri.

Wrap a strip of fresh nori (seaweed) around it…and enjoy!