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Rice balls onigiri and omusubi
People of all ages like traditional Japanese dishes onigiri and omisubi. Usually they are cooked when meal outside is planned. There are various onigiri and omusibi: shaped with salted hands in triangular or straw sack form, wrapped in nori, greased with soy sauce or miso soy paste and fried etc.
Names of onigiri and omusubi come from Japanese words meaning hands actions of grabbing, holding tight or knotting something. These are the actions hands perform while making onigiri and omusubi.
Onigiri and omusubi have the same filling and only their names differ. Onigiri name is considered older. In old times people prepared nigirimeshi balling sticky steamed rice. Gradually nigirimeshi turned into onigiri, which were prepared of ordinary rice. As for omusubi it is considered that in the Edo period women from noble families decided to replace the common people name onigiri with this more harmonic one.
How to make onigiri
Onigiri used to have local differences. So in Kansai region onigiri were in the form of a straw sack and in Kanto - of circle or triangular form.
Preparation
Put warm boiled rice in a bowl, take it with hands and shake a little. Rice will be easier to ball.
Moisten hands with salty water so that rice does not stick.
Note. For a left-handed person change left and right places in the description.
Triangular onigiri:
Put rice on your left palm and make triangular roof with your left one.
With four fingers (excluding your thumb) of the left hand make a wall and wad it into a rice ball.
Not moving a triangular roof, formed by the right hand, turn the ball around several times to firm three angles.
Round onigiri:
Form a rice ball with your left palm. Push on the ball with your right palm.
Turn onigiri around making the form of the ball more solid.
Press slightly onigiri with a palm.
Onigiri in the form of a straw sack:
With four fingers (excluding your thumb) of the left hand press a rice ball so that it get oblong.
Unfold onigiri and hold it with the palm, forefinger, long finger and ring finger of the left hand.
Holding onigiri with four fingers of the left hand, turn the ball around with the forefinger, long finger and ring finger of the right hand, slightly pressing it at the same time.
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