You probably only clicked on this because you thought "what the hell is that?" when the photo popped up on your screen. This is a modernized version of the traditional Japanese onigiri. They are very simple to make and I used to invent new versions for my son's lunch any time I had leftover rice. Today it occurred that one for me would be nice too!
1 cup cooked Japanese rice such as Kohoku Rose
1 sheet dried nori seaweed
Whatever you have in the fridge that you think would make good fillings. You can also make this with leftover cooked salmon drizzled with a bit of soy sauce, or half a can of tuna mixed with a bit of soy sauce and furikake if you have it, or some chopped shrimp and cucumber with a bit of rice vinegar. (My fillings are listed below)
Place some plastic wrap on your counter, about two inches larger on each side than your piece of nori.
Lay the piece of seaweed on top of it, shiny side down. Place 1/2 cup of the rice in the middle of the seaweed.
Top with the fillings of your choice. In the photo above, I decided to go with layers, so I used a few leaves of spinach and arugula, some sliced avocado, some shredded red cabbage that I tossed in a bit of rice wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar, and an egg salad that I made by chopping up a hard boiled egg with a teaspoon each of dried bonito flakes and Kewpie mayonnaise.
Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of rice and then fold the 4 corners of the seaweed inwards to form a ball. At this point the onigirazu will be a misshapen mess.
Fold the 4 corners of the plastic wrap up so that they meet. Holding the onigirazu in one hand and the 4 corners of the plastic wrap in the other, start spinning the onigiri slowly. The plastic wrap will tighten and the onigirazu will take shape and form a ball, as illustrated below.
Set it aside for a minute or two so that the seaweed softens slightly and then cut it in half through the plastic wrap, which will easily peel off each half of the onigirazu leaving you with a shiny, lovely lunch.
My son could have eaten the whole thing in one go. I found half very filling, though I did return to the remaining half as a snack later in the day.
