The onigiri experiment

My first “cooked” (which basically just consisted of boiling) meal at my new place was okayu, but since then I’ve also attempted fried eggs (YUM – it’s been a while since I’ve had those!), grilled cheese sammiches and instant ramen.  All very simple, “single guy living alone” type of meals.  However, it does seem like kind of a waste of my cooker no?  So I figured I’d try to ramp it up a little by making onigiri.  Not too complicated, but still closer to “home cooking” than what I’ve been doing to date.

(of course, after I started this, I realised that I didn’t need the gas range…doh!)

Every day, and I mean EVERY SINGLE weekday morning, I always grab a “wakame” onigiri at the Lawson conbini.  I love wakame, and Lawson makes the better wakame onigiris that I’ve tried.  Cheap (at 105 yen) and healthy, it’s been a regular staple of mine (heck, I just finished one a little while ago).

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When I was out shopping at the supermarket the other day, the following packet caught my eye and I was instantly motivated to try making my own breakfast.

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Originally I hadn’t specifically thought of making wakame onigiri, but after I got home I also realised that I had several packets of the snackable-type wakame (I think they’re intended as an accompaniment to drinking, like nuts, cheese, etc. but I just buy them as a quick and tasty snack) so I decided to try to incorporate them as well.

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It’s really extremely simple:

Ingredients (no precise measurements because… I didn’t measure anything, just did it all to taste):

Rice
Wakame
Onigiri seasoning
Butter

First you cook the rice (I made 2 cups).  When that’s done, it’s probably best to let the rice sit in the cooker for another 10-15 mins to let the moisture settle.  During this time, I chopped up about 3 small packets of wakame and set aside.

After cooling, I transferred all the rice into a large glass bowl and topped it with several dabs of butter.  (the butter was my own little addition since I just love butter on rice 😀

After stirriing in the butter, I folded in the chopped wakame, and finally the onigiri seasoning.  After stirring thoroughly – voila!  Yummy rice!  All that was left to be done was shape it into the traditional triangles (or balls, if you prefer) and wrap it up.  I made 2 onigiri, and there was plenty left over for the following day.

Despite the simplicity (let’s face it, this won’t win me any cooking awards) it was pretty tasty, even if I do say so myself~  😀

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3 Comments

  • June 15, 2009 - 07:51 | Permalink

    Wow, yum! Maybe toss a few of those flavor packages in the next box you send us 😉

    What’s a grilled cheese sammich, and does Lawson make better or best wakame? 🙂

    I’d like to send you a yogurt maker – small and it would add yummy, healthy yogurt to your diet. We just received ours and I made up two batches over the weekend – along with bread and first attempt at pizza. Whew, busy me!

    Or you can try your own home made…From Wiki: Caspian Sea Yoghurt is believed to have been introduced into Japan in 1986 by researchers returning from a trip to the Caucasus region in Georgia[19]. This variety, called Matsoni, is started with Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and Acetobacter orientalis species and has a unique, viscous, honey-like texture.[20] It is milder in taste than other varieties of yoghurts. Ideally, Caspian Sea yoghurt is made at home because it requires neither special equipment nor unobtainable culture. It can be made at room temperature (20–30°C) in 10 to 15 hours.[21] In Japan, freeze-dried starter cultures are sold in department stores and online, although many people obtain starter cultures from friends.

  • June 16, 2009 - 17:32 | Permalink

    Wow, making yogurt does sound interesting – I’ll have to check out the department store here and see if they have the starters. I love yogurt – eat a cup every day usually! 🙂

    I think you know what a grilled cheese sammich is. 😛 And as for Lawson’s wakame – I think they make the best compared to the other combini. But mine was at least as good! 😉

    And sure, let me know what you want from Japan and I’ll include one of the flavor packages 🙂

  • June 24, 2009 - 11:41 | Permalink

    You do have the onigiri maker to go with that, right? 😀 Those cheap little plastic things? I have two of my own, hehe.

    You can also use the cooker to make dimsum, with the right strainer!

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