Japanese Egg Rice Balls (Onigiri)
This is no ordinary onigiri! While traditional rice balls often feature such fillings as pickled plum or grilled salmon, my version takes a beloved breakfast staple—the soft-boiled egg—and tucks it into the heart of the rice, offering a delightful surprise with every bite. Onigiri is a versatile snack that you can find anywhere from street food stalls to convenience stores like 7-Eleven across Japan. Eating it takes me back to my childhood, when a simple bowl of egg and rice would often be my go-to dinner on nights when there was nothing else to eat. Perfect for snacking or as part of a bento box, this dish delivers a meal that’s both nourishing and tasty.
Makes8 Onigiri
Ingredients
- Dashi
- 1 kombu sheet
- 1 ounce (30 g) bonito flakes
Shoyu Tare- 1 cup + 2 tsp (250 ml) soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sake
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) mirin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Scant 1½ tsp (3 g) minced fresh ginger
- 1 spring onion
- 1 small piece kombu
- 1 ounce (30 g) bonito flakes
Eggs- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- Rounded 1 cup (208 g) uncooked sushi rice
For Assembly- 8 teaspoons (40 ml) Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie brand, for serving
- Furikake
INSTRUCTIONS
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Make the dashi: In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 4 cups (946 ml) of water to a boil over high heat. Add the kombu sheet, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the bonito flakes. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes, strain, then keep the liquid.
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Make the shoyu tare: In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, garlic, ginger, spring onion, small piece of kombu and bonito, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to low, simmer for 10 minutes, then strain and set aside to cool.
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Soft-boil the eggs: Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the eggs (in their shell) and let boil for 5 minutes. Remove the eggs and drop into ice cold water to stop the cooking, then drain and peel. Place the peeled eggs in a container with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the shoyu tare and turn to allow the marinade to coat the eggs. Cover and refrigerate to marinate overnight, then remove from the marinade and slice in half.
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Cook the rice: In a medium-sized saucepan with a lid, combine the sushi rice, 1½ cups + 1 tablespoon (370 ml) of the dashi stock and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the shoyu tare over high heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cover with the lid. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through and tender. Remove from the heat, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Let cool slightly before forming the onigiri.
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Form the onigiri: Fill a 2 ⅜ - to 2 ¾ -inch (6- to 7-cm)-diameter round cookie cutter with rice. Scoop out enough from the center to fit one egg half in the rice. Squeeze in 1 teaspoon of mayo and carefully add the other egg half, cut side up. Remove the cookie cutter and roll the bottom part of the onigiri in furikake. Repeat to form the remaining onigiri.
Credit:
Reprinted with permission from This Is a Book About Street Food by Brendan Pang. Page Street Publishing Co. 2024. Photo credit: Wei Kang Liao.
