You might scoff at rice balls, and their close cousins, rice sandwiches, but I know plenty of people (self included) who lust after them. Even at their simplest—plain boiled rice, brushed with a little soy sauce and wrapped in a piece of nori—there is something enormously appealing about them. When you try a few of the variations, you’ll find one you like as well. Although there are several different shapes into which the Japanese form rice balls, there is really only one important rule to remember: press the rice just firmly enough to have it hold together; you do not want a tough, packed ball but a loose association of individual clumps. Serve this as a side dish with Japanese food, or as an appetizer.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Work with wet hands while the rice is still hot (or at least warm). Form 8 balls by cupping the rice gently between your hands. Brush each ball lightly with soy sauce, using about half the soy for this purpose.
Step 2
Brush each of the nori sheets with a little of the remaining soy sauce, then cut each piece in half (done most easily with scissors). Wrap each ball with a piece of nori, shiny side out. Serve within a few hours.
Rice Balls with Sesame
Step 3
Sprinkle the balls with toasted sesame seeds (page 596) before wrapping.
Rice “Sandwiches”
Step 4
Enclose any of the following in the rice balls: dried bonito flakes, lightly doused with soy sauce, about 1 tablespoon per ball; pitted pickled plums (umeboshi), 1 per ball; a small piece of cooked fish, preferably salmon grilled with soy sauce.
Rice Balls with Miso
Step 5
Smear each of the rice balls with a bit of miso, thinned slightly with soy sauce, in place of the soy sauce alone.
