I can’t believe this. I am sitting here on a beautiful May day in Minnesota and it is 90 degrees outside. 90! Yesterday was in the 80’s and many people I ran into were complaining about the heat. Me? I say bring it on! Let’s warm up those lakes and get out on and in the water! Minnesota (and Wisconsin) summers at the lake are what I live for!
Winters in Minnesota are known for being notoriously long and therefore the summers are known for being short. Short, but magical. I love them both, though by the time March rolls around I really do want spring to just hurry it up already.
When Karl and I were living in Japan, we got used to heat and humidity that makes the Minnesota summer weather seem like nothing at all. Perhaps that is one reason I am always surprised when people here mention how hot it is and I am not even breaking a sweat. Whatever the reason, I love days like these.
Last summer, I put this delicious recipe up on the blog. It is the perfect Japanese summer meal. Easy, healthy, delicious, and cold. Another standby for summer time for us while living in Japan were rice balls, known as onigiri in Japanese. Specifically, we loved the kind that were stuffed with a pickled plum, called umeboshi.
These pickled plums definitely took some getting used to as they are quite sour. I can’t think of anything equivalent that we eat in the US. They are kind of reminiscent of a sour candy-that taste sensation…but without the sweet after taste. We sometimes ate them plain, but I came to really love them on plain rice or in onigiri. The blandness of rice mixed with the super concentrated and intense flavor of the umeboshi is perfect. And for whatever reason taste amaaaaazing on a hot summer day.
You should be able to find umeboshi in any Asian super market. You can also easily find them online. Umeboshi paste would also work for this recipe.
I should also note that you can stuff the onigiri with anything you would like if umeboshi doesn’t seems like your thing or you can’t find it. Popular fillings include salmon, tuna, and roe. Really, you can use whatever you like. Tsukemono, Japanese pickles, (other than the plum variety) are good and my favorite vegetarian option. Shibazuke, pickled cucumbers and eggplant brined with salt and red shiso would be delicious, for example.
Onigiri is the perfect summer picnic, hiking, or simple midday snack. They pack well and taste delicious warm or cold!
Yields 4-6 onigiri
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup uncooked white sushi rice
- 4-6 umeboshi, pitted
- 2-3 large sheets of nori seaweed, cut down to smaller sized (I think mine were about 3x5 in)
- black sesame for garnish, if desired
Directions
- Prepared white sushi rice as directed. Be sure to rinse it thoroughly to remove the extra starch from the rice grains.
- You will want to rice to cool enough so that you can handle it without burning yourself, but it will need to be warm to form the onigiri balls.
- Scoop about a ½ cup (about a handful) of rice into a small bowl and make a hole in the center of the rice in which you will place the pitted umeboshi. Wet down your hand with water and press the rice around the umeboshi to cover it.
- Transfer the rice to your hands and shape the rice ball as desired. A common form for onigiri is triangular, which isn’t too difficult to achieve with a little practice!
- Wrap the onigiri with a sheet of nori and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired.
- This recipe should make between 4-6 onigiri, depending on the size you make them.
Notes
You can find umeboshi or umeboshi paste at most co-ops and Asian Markets. You can also purchase it online.
Feel free to use other stuffings besides umeboshi such as other Japanese pickles, veggies, or fish if you eat fish.
The post Umeboshi Onigiri | Japanese Pickled Plum Rice Balls appeared first on The Artful Appetite.