Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)

Ingredients

• •4 cups short-grain Japanese rice, cooked and still warm
• •1 tsp salt
• •1 can (160 g) canned tuna, well drained
• •2 tbsp mayonnaise (Kewpie preferred)
• •1 tsp soy sauce
• •2 tbsp umeboshi (pickled plum) paste or whole umeboshi, pitted
• •4 half-sheets nori sheets, cut into 2-inch wide strips
• •1 tsp sesame seeds, optional

Directions

1. 1Mix tuna with mayonnaise and soy sauce in a small bowl to make the tuna mayo filling.
2. 2Season warm cooked rice lightly with salt and stir gently; let cool until just comfortable to handle.
3. 3Wet your hands with water and lightly salt your palms, then scoop about 1/2 cup of rice into one hand.
4. 4Make a small indent in the rice, place about 1 tsp of filling (tuna mayo or umeboshi) in the center, then fold rice around it.
5. 5Press and shape the rice firmly into a triangle or round, rotating and squeezing with both hands about 4–5 times until compact.
6. 6Wrap a strip of nori around the base of each onigiri and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
7. 7Serve immediately or wrap individually in plastic wrap for lunchboxes.

💡 Kewpie mayonnaise (richer and slightly tangy) is available at T&T, Loblaws, and Amazon Canada; regular Hellmann's works fine as a substitute. Umeboshi (pickled plum) is at Asian grocery stores — a small cube of cream cheese mixed with a pinch of salt makes an easy kid-friendly filling alternative.

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