Onigiri is one of the most popular dishes of modern Japanese cuisine. The dish is a small rice kolobok, sometimes with stuffing. The name onigiri comes from the word "nigiru", which means "squeeze" - this word exactly reflects the process of making rice koloboks.
A bit of history
Onigiri is a traditional dish with a very ancient history. According to one of the versions for the first time, rice koloboks appeared in the Heian period as a field meal for soldiers - and, indeed, onigiri can be eaten on the go. This dish is made from ordinary rice - it's a simple peasant and soldier's food, which they took with them in the field or in a hike. Since pre-industrial Japan was an agrarian country, the onigiri dish was extremely widespread. It, contrary to popular belief, is not at all a kind of land (it is more correct to speak sushi). Even historically the origin of sushi and onigiri is different. Sushi, as a dish, was formed from the way of storing and preserving fish. To make sushi rice is used with vinegar, sugar and salt.
About the technology of the dish
The recipe for onigiri is very simple, it was formed naturally for a very long time and polished by Japanese chefs to high art. How to make onigiri? Traditionally, this happens as follows: a welded, still warm sticky rice is placed in the palm of the hand, a lump of stuffing is put in the middle and starts to squeeze gently, as if wrapping a layer of rice around a lump of filling. Currently, most often rice is laid out in a round or triangular shape. Sometimes onigiri is fried and / or wrapped in a nori sheet (one of the types of dried seaweed, widely used in the preparation of various Japanese dishes). Recently, as a wrapper, instead of nori, lettuce, omelette and even thin slices of ham are used.
Filling for onigiri
The onigiri filling located inside the rice kolobok can be evenly mixed in rice, or be inside the rice cylinder, laid out on it or on a triangle from above. The filling for onigiri is made from fish (tuna, salmon, sea eel), from katsuobusi (dried mackerel flakes), shrimps, algae kombu, from umeboshi (salted or marinated plum), from pickled cucumber, soy beans natto and even from roasted meat. In Japan, this dish is very common, there are even specialty shops, in which they sell only it.
Some subtleties
How to make onigiri correctly? The main thing is to choose a rice: it should be well bonded after boiling and decanting excess liquid (broth). For this purpose, varieties with round grains are most suitable. The filling can be in the form of whole pieces (one or several) and in the form of minced meat (in this case it should be ground with a knife in minced meat, since in the authentic version of cooking, blenders and meat grinders, of course, do not use). Nori sheets can be bought in specialized shops, supermarket departments, in Asian markets. You can also buy rice here. When cooking onigiri it is very important not to "squeeze", that is, rice should not be pressed too hard, since it is believed that overly compressed rice seriously worsens the taste of the dish and aesthetic pleasure.
Cooking onigiri
The recipe for onigiri is not too complicated.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of rice;
- 8 strips of nori;
- 8 small pieces of light-salted or smoked salmon, pink salmon.
How to cook rice for onigiri? Rinse rice well, pour water in
How to cook onigiri?
We make koloboks with stuffing by hand or using special shapes. We wrap salmon in koloboks, and them - in strips of nori and lay out on a dish. It is better that the dish does not have a pattern. To onigiri you can serve sake, plum wine, good cool vodka or even beer.