Tuna-mayo Onigiri | ツナマヨおにぎり [tsunamayo onigiri]

”Onigiri” (rice balls) are Japanese fast/comfort food. The concept is very similar to sandwiches, i.e., you can eat by hand, and it is basically rice + something. 

Mayonnaise-009🇯🇵｜マヨネーズ [mayonēzu]

Billions of onigiri are sold annually at convenience stores in Japan. Let's make tuna-mayo onigiri, the No. 1 onigiri for many years!

By the way, this is a coaster from one of my favorite restaurants in Washington D.C. Don’t you think it‘s cute!?

How to make TUNA-MAYO ONIGIRI:

You may already know but tuna-mayo onigiri is a rice ball filled with a very basic tuna salad.

There are 3 steps;

I. Preparing warm/hot Japanese short-grain rice - cook rice or defrost frozen rice

II. Preparing rice ball filling 

III. Finishing: mold a rice ball

Then, let’s start cooking!

I. Preparing Japanese Short-grain Rice

Check “How to cook/prepare Japanese rice a little better” (🇯🇵3: Scattered Sushi) and/or “How to freeze leftoverJapanese rice a bit better...” (🇯🇵6: T.K.G. - TamagoKake Gohan).

II. Preparing Rice Ball Filling

1. Drain the tuna very well. 

2. Mixe tuna (1), mayonnaise, wasabi, and black pepper (optional)

If you don’t have wasabi, add a little soy sauce instead.

3. (Optional) Add toasted sesame seeds to the salt.

III. Finishing

4. Wet your hands before you make rice balls to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands.

5. Put salt (3) on both your hands and rub to spread all around.

6. Mold a rice ball (put filling in the center) in your hand. Form the ball into a triangle.

7. Wrap the rice ball (6) with nori. 

This may make more sense when you watch the video.

📌 Kokomi's Point

1. When you make a rice ball, use warm or even a little hot (not very hot) rice

to make more fluffy onigiri.

2. Nori has front side and a back side. The front, shinier side, should be on the outside of the onigiri.

How to make Onigiri a little easier....

Again, check out the video!

📌 Kokomi‘s Favorite

There are a few different kinds of mayonnaise in my fridge, and I choose the mayo depending  on the dish. For tuna-mayo onigiri, I prefer to use Japanese KEWPIE mayo due to its rich taste and umami flavor.

📍DC Area: Can be found in Japanese and some Asian markets.