Japanese cuisine, recipes with photos. Features of Japanese cuisine

Do you want to pamper your family with something original, unusual, but there is sorely not enough time for a long search for delicious recipes? Or do you need to come up with something for a snack at lunchtime? Or are unexpected guests about to arrive?

For such cases, you will need the culinary inventions of the peoples of the world.

In particular, pay attention to the dishes offered by traditional Japanese cuisine, which have already gained worldwide popularity.

We are talking about the famous sushi, which was invented in ancient times as a result of the search for ways to preserve fish.

The peoples of South Asia have found out that boiled rice can be used to preserve fish. In the process of lactic acid fermentation of rice mixed with fish, the latter became edible for a whole year and even more.

And for the Japanese, the combination of rice and various seafood has become a kind of national fast food, very much loved by the people engaged in hard rural work.

And already in the 19th century, when the chef Yohei Hanai from Tokyo proposed serving fish raw, which reduced the preparation process of such a dish to a few minutes, sushi quickly gained popularity in eateries and restaurants throughout Japan. In the 1980s, the fashion for this "practical", tasty and unusual dish came to the USA and Europe.

Despite the impressive variety of types of sushi (and there are at least 17 of them, differing only in the way they are prepared), they have a common component - a special glutinous rice. Differences are manifested in the use of various fillings, spices, seasonings and the ways in which they are combined. At the same time, the same ingredients in different types of sushi are stacked differently and always look beautiful, appetizing and exotic.

Sushi is valuable not only for its piquant and aesthetic appearance, but also for the balance of its constituent components. A small amount of fats, and, therefore, calories, with a high content of essential amino acids, vitamins and trace elements, makes sushi one of the ideal dishes for those who pay attention to their health and figure. By preparing rice and fish cakes for a special occasion, you will free yourself from the extra calories that usually accompany festive feasts. Try it, and this amazing dish will become a decoration of your culinary piggy bank and a lifesaver for many occasions.

Making sushi requires fresh ingredients and the right tools, and of course, a fair amount of dexterity and craftsmanship. Therefore, it is better to start with simple types of sushi, for example, with onigiri. These are such peculiar pies, where boiled unleavened rice is used instead of dough. They put a wide variety of fillings inside, and wrap them in nori on top - a long sheet of dry seaweed.

Sometimes the filling is evenly mixed into rice, instead of nori, they use it as a wrapper.
vegetable salad leaves, scrambled pancakes or even sliced ham. The shape of the cakes is spherical or pyramidal.

But they are made in such a size that they can be eaten in a maximum of a couple of bites. In Japan, onigiri are very popular and so widespread that there are shops that specialize only in selling them.

The name of the dish was given by the verb nigiru (meaning "squeeze"), which very accurately reflects the way they are cooked, when warm rice is taken in the palm, the filling is placed in the center of the cake and gently squeezed, wrapping it with rice.

How to make onigiri at home?

If you want to make traditional Japanese rice balls, you will need to purchase some pretty specific ingredients.

So, the filling for onigiri is usually:

fish (sea eel, tuna, salted salmon);
dried tuna flakes (katsuobushi);
shrimps;
salted plum (umeboshi);
fish caviar (from pollock or salmon);
meat (usually fried or with mayonnaise);
cucumbers (both fresh and pickled);
sausages;
kombu seaweed;
soybean and cereal (miso) paste.

If for some reason you didn’t have these products, it doesn’t matter, you can fill these rice balls according to the following recipes or come up with your own options, experiment based on what products you have at hand.

A simple onigiri base recipe

Try some unconventional toppings:

beef, broccoli, mayonnaise, tuna;
hummus, cucumber, tomato, olives, carrots, greens;
pickles (eggplants, cucumbers, daikon, etc.), cheese, sausage, ham;
romaine lettuce, feta cheese, boiled chickpeas, cucumber, red onion, tzatziki sauce
chicken salad (or any according to your mood);
tuna salad (combine a jar of canned tuna with soy sauce, mayonnaise, miso paste (your choice, just don't make it too liquid) and a couple of drops of yuzu (or lemon));
slightly salted salmon or trout, fresh cucumber, black olives, soy sauce, black sesame seeds, cream cheese, pickled ginger to taste.
hummus, baked eggplant, olives, lettuce.

Prepare the ingredients for the filling and mix them. If the rice came with instructions for cooking it, cook it according to those guidelines.

If not, then perform the following manipulations:

first rinse the rice in several waters until it is transparent;
pour the washed rice into a deep saucepan, pour 250 ml of water into each cup of rice;
over high heat, bring to a boil (it will take about 5 minutes);
after boiling, immediately make the fire minimal and simmer a little more (10-12 minutes);
when the liquid is completely absorbed into the rice, remove the heat and let it swell for another 15 minutes.

When the rice has cooled to a tolerable (for hands) temperature, you can begin to form rice "koloboks". If you don't have access to Japanese rice at the moment, use regular round rice, just soak it in water for 20-30 minutes before cooking. This will increase its stickiness.

Use a large cutting board (wax paper is fine) to form balls. Wet your hands in salt water (20 grams of salt per glass of water) so that the rice doesn't stick to your hands. Take some rice in the palm of your hand, squeeze it into a ball, make an indentation in it and put the stuffing there. Cover it with a layer of rice to cover it completely.

You can wrap the finished ball with a sheet of nori, but you don’t have to. Seaweed-wrapped rice is just easier to handle and holds its shape better. But you can also show your imagination and decorate your pies with berries, pieces of fruits and vegetables, giving them the appearance of animals, funny faces, flowers, etc.

How to cook delicious onigiri - tips for beginners:

to keep your onigiri out of the fridge for a while, don't use perishable fillings;
making rice balls at home can be easier and more convenient with the help of cling film, in which you need to put the finished cake with filling, and press already, tightening the film;
Japanese rice cakes with oriental seasonings and spices are very tasty;
when wrapping a dish for a picnic or in a breakfast bento, wrap it only with cling film, if you want to wrap it with nori, do it immediately before eating;
try to spice up the taste of the dish with toasted sesame seeds, gomashio (a mixture of sesame seeds and salt), furikake (ground dried fish with spices);
if not you, then your children will definitely like the dessert sweet recipe for rice balls with dried fruits, nuts and other yummy;
for sweet rice cakes, be sure to serve quality green tea.

Serve onigiri on plain porcelain plates or on wooden planks in the Japanese traditional minimalist style, drink aromatic tea, and you will feel the refined atmosphere of the Land of the Rising Sun, where people are able to feel the harmony and beauty of the world even in the midst of hustle and bustle, in the midst of everyday work.

Onigiri - stuffed rice balls - have become popular with us along with the fashion for everything oriental. This Japanese dish is a pyramid or ball of rice wrapped in a nori leaf. Stuffing is also added to rice: a small amount is mixed into the grains, but so that they do not lose their "sticky" properties. Instead of a sheet of dried seaweed, the wrapper can be a lettuce leaf, an omelet, or a piece of fried bacon.

History of the dish

Onigiri, like sushi, is one of the oldest dishes in Japan. But if sushi was invented as a way to store fish and was made from rice seasoned with vinegar, salt and sugar, then onigiri was intended to store rice directly, so they were made without seasonings. Later, they turned into an independent dish and began to be prepared with stuffing. They gained particular popularity among the peasants, who went to the fields for the whole day and were deprived of the opportunity to cook dinner. Later, onigiri began to be taken with them on the road or on nature. This easy-to-storage and transportable dish has become such a favorite among the people that now you can find stores throughout Japan that sell only onigiri.

Filling for onigiri

Since Japan is an island country with a well-developed fishery, onigiri recipes often include seafood fillings. For example, tuna, salmon, conger eel, shrimp, salmon or pollock caviar, algae. You can also add meat, salted plums, pickled cucumbers, sausages or soybeans to the koloboks. In addition, various seasonings and sauces are added to rice, which enrich the taste of cereals. Depending on the recipe, the filling can be finely chopped or left in fairly large pieces.

The name of the dish comes from the Japanese verb "nigiru", which means "to squeeze". Actually, this conveys the essence of the technological process of making rice balls. Rice is taken while still warm, rolled out in the palm of your hand, a well-compressed filling is placed in the center, and then wrapped in the rest of the rice. At the same time, it is impossible to compress the rice too much, so as not to impair its taste. For this purpose, special triangular or round shapes were invented, in which it is much easier to form a beautiful figure.
For the dish, the kind of rice that sticks together well after cooking is suitable. Most often, this is round rice, which can be purchased at the Asian market or in a special department of the supermarket. There you can also get nori sheets and some fillings.

How to cook onigiri at home?

The main components of onigiri are rice base and filling:

rice - 1 glass;
dry algae for wrapping;
smoked salmon or pink salmon.

The amount of fish and nori will depend on how many servings you decide to make.

Rinse the rice, cover it with water and put on high heat in a saucepan with thick walls. Once the water boils, remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes without stirring.
Let the rice stand for 20 minutes under a paper towel. So it will absorb the remaining moisture.
Take a little rice in the palm of your hand, put a well-compressed filling in the center, cover with the same amount of rice and make a bun.
Wrap the ball with a strip of nori and place on a flat plate without a pattern.
This procedure must be done with all the remaining rice. You can serve the finished dish with traditional Japanese drinks (sake, plum wine) or with ordinary beer.

Onigiri is a national Japanese dish made from boiled rice with fillings. In Japan, onigiri is extremely popular, no less than sushi, rolls or miso soup. There are different shapes, but most often they are molded in the form of puffy triangles, and pressed on the sides with a small sheet of dried nori seaweed. In our country they are often called - rice balls or rice balls.

A variety of ingredients can be used for the filling. Traditionally, various varieties of salted fish, shrimp, fish caviar, edible algae are used. They also use boiled or fried chicken meat, pickled cucumbers and even sausages. Kikkoman soy sauce is usually served with the dish. This is the perfect seasoning for onigiri and no additional garnish is needed. An exception, perhaps, is pickled ginger.

Today we will talk with you on this page www.site how to cook onigiri, we will consider a recipe for cooking at home, but not one. In general, cooking this dish is easy and pleasant. If everything is done correctly, you get a delicious, light, dietary cold appetizer. Here are some popular, easy onigiri recipes:

Onigiri dish at home with salted salmon (salmon, trout)

For cooking you will need: 2 cups of rice (it is better to take a special one, for sushi), a small piece, about 100 g of lightly salted fish fillet, 2 fresh cucumbers, canned pitted olives, soy sauce, 1 tbsp. l. roasted sesame seeds (black), 2-3 sheets of dried nori seaweed, a little melted cream cheese. You will also need pickled ginger.

Cooking:

Boil rice until tender. Leave in a colander to completely remove any remaining water. Let the rice cool well and transfer to a clean bowl.

Wash cucumbers. If the skin is very rough, cut it off. Cut the cucumbers into medium-sized cubes, put in a separate cup. Also cut the fish into cubes, put them separately.

Pour salted water into a wide bowl. You will need it to wet your hands when making rice balls. For one and a half glasses of water, take 1.5 tbsp. l. salt.

Now moisten your hands with salt water, take a small amount of rice in your palm, make a ball. Use your finger to make a hole where you place a cube of fish, cucumber or olive. In another ball, put a cube of fish and a piece of cheese. So combine the filling as you wish.

Give the onigiri the shape of a triangle, wrap it in a piece of nori sheet, put it on a wide dish, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with soy sauce, thinly sliced pickled ginger root.

How to cook onigiri at home with canned tuna?

For this variety of onigiri, we need the following products: 2 cups of boiled rice, 2 sheets of nori, the contents of a can of tuna (in pieces), drain the liquid from the can. Also take thick mayonnaise, a mixture of finely chopped onion and parsley, salt if necessary.

Cooking:

Keep the cooked rice in a colander until all the liquid is drained. Then transfer to a bowl, cool. Prepare salt water for wetting your hands (as described in the first recipe). Remember tuna with a fork, mix with large quantity mayonnaise, add herbs, mix.

Take the right amount of rice in the palm of your hand, but not much so that the onigiri can be eaten right away. Make an indentation with your finger and put about 1 tsp. fillings. Seal up the hole. Give the shape of a triangle or bar, wrap with a cut piece of nori sheet. Put the finished onigiri on a dish. Serve with soy sauce.

With fried chicken, daikon and salad

Prepare ingredients: 2 cups boiled rice, 1 fried chicken breast or chicken fillet, medium daikon, medium ripe tomato, pickled ginger, fresh lettuce.

Cooking:

Wash the lettuce leaves, dry on a paper towel. Lay out on a platter. Clean the daikon, wash and cut into thin circles. Cut the washed, dried tomato into small slices. Chicken - cubes.

As already mentioned above, mold the rice balls with your hands moistened with salt water. In the middle of each, put a piece of chicken meat, a thin circle of pickled ginger. Seal up the hole. Wrap onigiri with a piece of nori sheet, spread on lettuce leaves. Garnish around the edges with daikon slices and tomato slices.

With crab sticks

We will need: 2 cups of boiled rice, fresh cucumber, hard-boiled egg, a pack of crab sticks, finely chopped green onions. Still need mayonnaise.

Cooking:

Prepare the filling: cut the cucumber, egg into cubes. Crab sticks cut into pieces. Combine ingredients, green onions. Add a little thick mayonnaise, mix everything gently.

Shape the rice into balls as described above. Fill each with prepared filling. Give the desired shape, wrap the nori, arrange on a dish. Serve with soy sauce.

With canned seaweed

This recipe is very simple. Drain the liquid from the cabbage jar. Place the kelp in a bowl. Then do everything as described in the recipes that we have already reviewed. Stuff the middle of the rice ball with seaweed. Give shape, wrap nori, you can sprinkle with parsley. Arrange on a platter, serve with soy sauce. Enjoy your meal!

Onigiri is a traditional Japanese dish that is often confused with sushi and rolls. Its main ingredient is rice, but it is not salted, vinegar or rice wine, sugar or soy sauce are not added to it. The product must be fresh. Balls or triangles are formed from rice, a seaweed substrate is made for them and served at the table. It was invented to make such rice balls in order to make it convenient to eat rice and take it on the road, using it as a snack. The name of the dish comes from the Japanese word, which translates as "squeeze". This is due to the technology of onigiri preparation: rice was squeezed by hand, forming koloboks. The filling is not an essential ingredient in onigiri, but they are most often made with it. To prepare sushi or rolls, you need to have a certain skill, but any housewife can make rice balls.

Cooking features

The technology for making onigiri is extremely simple, even a novice cook can easily master it. You just need to know some points, otherwise the result will be very different from the expected, and not for the better.

Onigiri requires sticky rice. Any variety of this cereal intended for making sushi is suitable. You can also use regular round-grain rice, after soaking it for half an hour in cool water.
When cooking rice for onigiri, do not add salt to the water: this dish requires a fresh product. However, the filling should be salty or savory enough to balance the taste of the finished dish.
When cooking rice for onigiri, the groats are washed 7 times, dipped in already boiling water. First, boil for 5 minutes over medium heat, then cook for 10 minutes over low heat, then let stand under the lid and reach the desired state for 15–20 minutes. By this time, the temperature of the product will be just such that you can work with it with your hands without risking burns.
The traditional technology of making onigiri involves the formation of a small ball (for 2-3 bites), in which a hole is made with a finger, stuffing is put into it, then it is squeezed with rice.
Seafood is most often used as a filling for onigiri: tuna shavings, salmon, shrimp, caviar. Salted plums are one of the most favorite fillings for 40% of Japanese people. It is acceptable to use fresh and pickled vegetables, meat, chicken, seaweed.
The filling can not be placed inside the rice ball, but immediately mixed with rice, and then formed from the resulting mass into figures of the desired shape.
You can form onigiri with your hands or with cling film. It will be even easier to do this using special molds.
If you are preparing onigiri without filling, you can add a little soy sauce and sesame oil to the rice.
Before serving, onigiri is wrapped in seaweed strips or made into a substrate. Algae can be replaced with lettuce leaves or pancake omelet. The main purpose of the backing is to keep sticky rice from staining your fingers. Additionally, it helps to keep the onigiri given shape.
Onigiri is wrapped in seaweed before serving. If you do this ahead of time, the nori will get wet.
Japanese women often decorate onigiri with pieces of seaweed, fruits, vegetables, sesame seeds, making rice products look like funny faces.

Onigiri is served on white porcelain plates or wooden boards. Green tea or sake can be served with the dish.

Onigiri with salted plum

rice for sushi - 0.2 kg;
nori seaweed - 6-8 pieces;
salted plums - 3-4 pcs.;
water - 0.3 l.

Cooking method:

Rinse rice to clean water.
Boil water, put rice cereal in it.
Boil for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Lower the intensity of the flame, continue to cook the rice for 12 minutes.
Turn off the fire. Leave the rice in the pot covered for 15 minutes.
Divide the rice into 6-8 portions.
Cut plums in half.
Cut off a piece of cling film, put on the board.
Lay out one portion of rice on the film, put half a plum in the center.
Lift the edges of the cling film, use it to form a triangle out of rice so that the plum is in the center.
Remove cling film.
Wrap the triangle with a strip of nori so that it runs along its edges.
In the same way, make onigiri with the remaining portions of rice and plums.

Instead of halves of salted plums, you can use slices of pickled cucumbers or other vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, olives or black olives.

Onigiri with salmon and cream cheese

rice for sushi - 0.4 kg;
water - 0.5 l;
slightly salted salmon (fillet) - 0.2 kg;
cream cheese - 150 g;
sesame oil - to taste;
nori - 12 pcs.

Cooking method:

Rinse, dip rice in boiling water. After simmering it on high heat for 5 minutes, reduce the intensity of the flame and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
Leave to swell and cool under the lid for 20 minutes.
Add oil, stir.
Finely chop the lightly salted salmon fillet, add cream cheese, mix thoroughly.
Put a large spoonful of rice on a piece of cling film, flatten it slightly.
Place a small spoonful of filling in the center.
Lift the ends of the film and form the rice into a ball. The filling should be in the center.
Remove film. Wrap the rice ball with a strip of seaweed. Put on a plate.
Form the remaining rice into balls in the same way.

When serving, rice balls can be sprinkled with sesame seeds. In Japan, onigiri stuffed with salmon fish are very popular. Europeans also like their taste.

Onigiri with tuna

coarse grain rice - 0.4 kg;
water - 0.6 l;
canned tuna - 0.25 kg;
mayonnaise - 50 ml;
lettuce leaves - as needed.

Cooking method:

Rinse rice until clear water, fill with clean water, leave for half an hour.
Put on a quick fire, bring to a boil.
Reduce the flame, cook for 15 minutes.
Remove rice from heat. Cool to a comfortable temperature.
Wetting your hands in salt water, shape the rice into balls about 3.5 cm in diameter.
Transfer the tuna to a bowl, mash with a fork, add mayonnaise, mix.
Make an indentation in each ball with your finger, put the tuna filling into it. Crimp so that the filling is inside.
Wash and dry lettuce leaves. Wrap rice balls in them, put on a dish.

If you are not ready to eat unleavened rice, even with delicious toppings, you can boil it in salted water.

Onigiri in an omelette

chicken egg - 3 pcs.;
corn starch or flour - 20 g;
mayonnaise - 20 ml;
rice - 0.2 kg;
water - 0.3 l;
pollock or cod caviar (punched, salted) - 100 g;
vegetable oil - as needed.

Cooking method:

Combine eggs, mayonnaise and starch. Beat with a whisk to get a homogeneous mass. You can lightly salt and pepper, add dried herbs.
Heat up a frying pan, brush with oil. Fry the omelette in the form of thin pancakes, pouring the dough into the pan in small portions.
When the omelet pancakes have cooled, cut them into strips.
Boil rice in unsalted water, mix it with caviar.
Shape the rice into balls or triangles. You can do this with cling film or by hand. To prevent rice from sticking to your palms, soak them in salt water.
Wrap the onigiri with an omelette, sprinkle with fresh herbs, finely chopped beforehand, and serve.

Omelet pancakes can be used in place of seaweed when making onigiri with any filling.

The traditional Japanese dish onigiri does not have a specific taste, and not only fans of Asian cuisine will like it. Cooking this dish is not difficult, even an inexperienced hostess will cope with the task. You just need to know how to cook rice properly. The filling for onigiri can be prepared according to your taste from meat, seafood, salted vegetables.

Onigiri is one of the most popular dishes in modern Japanese cuisine. The dish is a medium-sized rice balls, sometimes stuffed. The name onigiri comes from the word "nigiru", which means "to squeeze" - this word exactly reflects the process of making rice balls.

A bit of history

Onigiri is a traditional dish with a very ancient history. According to one version, rice balls first appeared in the Heian era as a camping meal for soldiers - and, in fact, onigiri can be eaten on the go. This dish is prepared from ordinary rice - this is a simple peasant and soldier's food, which they took with them in the field or on a hike. Since pre-industrial Japan was an agricultural country, onigiri was extremely widespread. It, contrary to popular belief, is not at all a type of sushi (it’s more correct to say sushi). Even historically, the origins of sushi and onigiri are different. Sushi, as a dish, was formed from the way of storing and preserving fish. Sushi is made with rice, vinegar, sugar and salt.

About dish technology

The onigiri recipe is very simple, it has been formed naturally over a very long time and polished by Japanese chefs to a high art. How to make onigiri? Traditionally, this happens as follows: boiled, still warm glutinous rice is placed in the palm, a lump of filling is placed in the middle and they begin to gently squeeze, as if wrapping a layer of rice around the lump of filling. Currently, most often rice is laid out in a round or triangular shape. Onigiri is sometimes fried and/or wrapped in a sheet of nori (a type of dried seaweed commonly used in various Japanese dishes). Recently, lettuce leaves, scrambled eggs, and even thin slices of ham have been used instead of nori as a wrapper.

Filling for onigiri

The filling for onigiri, located inside the rice ball, can be evenly mixed into the rice, or it can be inside the rice cylinder, laid out on it or on top of the triangle. The stuffing for onigiri is made from fish (tuna, salmon, sea eel), katsuobushi (dried mackerel flakes), shrimp, kombu seaweed, umeboshi (salted or pickled plum), pickled cucumber, natto soybeans, and even fried meat. In Japan, this dish is very common, there are even specialized shops that sell only it.

Some subtleties

How to make onigiri correctly? The main thing is to choose rice: it should stick together well after boiling and straining off excess liquid (broth). For this, varieties with round grains are most suitable. The filling can be in the form of whole pieces (one or more) and in the form of minced meat (in this case, it should be chopped with a knife into minced meat, since, of course, blenders and meat grinders are not used in the authentic cooking version). Nori sheets can be bought in specialized shops, supermarket departments, and Asian markets. You can also buy rice there. When preparing onigiri, it is very important not to "squeeze", that is, the rice should not be pressed too hard, as it is believed that over-pressed rice seriously impairs the taste of the dish and aesthetic pleasure.

cooking onigiri

The recipe for making onigiri is not too complicated.