Japan - How To #9 - Rice Balls!

[ichigomochi]

That's a smart way of making a onigiri! The way my mom taught me was to wet your hands first and sprinkle salt onto your wet palms, take a scoop of rice and and then mold it. However it's a little difficult to do so when the water evaporates and rice starts to stick to your hands...Plus if it's freshly cooked rice it's very hot and can be pretty painful. I'll give the plastic wrap a try next time I make them!

[DarkDFlame]

Wait, so you have to eat the plastic layer with it?

[frealynn]

@DarkDFlame of course not =D

[CptEddyPrice]

@DarkDFlame

I had the same question xD

[hnrksl]

If I ever go to Japan I'd want you as my tour guide.

reasons;

1 epic accent

2 intelligent and knowledgeable about Japan

3 good insight.

[Dosteven91]

@109mytiger I wish I read this before surfing the web. It took me a while to realize he used furikake. For those who don't want to pay the shipping price (lol like me!), justbento has recipes for various types of furikake =o Just type "furikake no." in the custom search and it should give you list of links to them

[GaryOakIsMine]

Have you made a video on Octo balls?

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

@GaryOakIsMine

Yes.

On the food playlist.

[manufacturedfracture]

@GaryOakIsMine  takoyaki look that up in food playlist

[anthemlog]

Would steamed rice work too?

[Anorchous]

im trying that!!!!

[Sing4ever9]

My Japanese teacher once made rice balls for a foreign language club meeting. I took them to swim practice and shared with my team mates. However, I just have to ask, can a rice ball have mushrooms in it?

[MLGTelephonica]

@Sing4ever9 I don't see why not. You can put anything in it.

[dedeen]

Must be a bit tricky to gain weight in Japan.

I wonder how the gym situation is there, lots of calories if you're working out...

[198CharlesMartel198]

OMG look at 0:00 - 0:06 if that is how it needs to be done

thats crazy it takes skill to make a riceball

[jameswray50]

Onigiri? It dose not have norri so I'm not sure

[kerflop]

do you know of any places online where we can order those flavoring packets for rice balls? I eat rice all the time but only ever flavor it with other foods or soy.

[bluesteelmagnolia]

Thirty sec. , what about cooking the rice?!

[PounceTeazle]

Why did she mix it on or in the plastic wrapper?

[MLGTelephonica]

@PounceTeazle It's sticky if you use your hands, plus it's easier to store in a plastic wrapper for later.

[Plemith]

*cough* balls

[CelesteRepchukTV]

I just made an onigiri. but I didn't know what spices to put in. it still tasted pretty good though

[kwill81]

This works really well! I have made several after watching this and they turn out good.

[IcedHide]

you showed make videos on Japanese cooking or vids related to that if you haven't already

[PhantasyGod]

@Chambers143 i ment to say that there are some rice paper thingies that you can actually eat and i have never seen one in any videos or real life so thats why i was kinda confused...

[PhantasyGod]

very stupid questing.. do you eat that paper thingie.?? or what? because i cant imagine that onigiri keeping its form after you take it out from the paper..

[phongbong]

I'm making this tomorrow.

[stevelysteve]

Hm...I tried to do this once with white long-grain rice and failed epically. xD I later read that it wasn't the type of rice typically used for onigiri--is that right? What type do people use?

[manufacturedfracture]

are rice "balls" usually triangle like anime

[ration10]

I would love a riceball!

[88Kamikaze69]

Anybody watching this video actually from Norway and know of a rice sticky enough to do this with?

[chabella123]

@88Kamikaze69 not from norway- but denmark. and u can/chould be able to find sushi rice in a supermarket. or rlce basmati or jasim should do the trick. i use them both when cooking and often have them sticking together, so... i guess u can use them to make the rice ball. PS. Im not 100% sure. but i know the 3 kinds of rice should exist in norway.. or else u might have to visit dk. hehe :)

[88Kamikaze69]

@chabella123

Thanks, I'll have to check that out the next time I go to the store :)

Don't think I'd go all the way to Denmark for rice balls though, I mean... Sure, i know it's supposed to be great to be Norwegian in Denmark but there are limits :P

[BlasianBoyXD]

yummy(:

[charizardpal]

Not my favorite. Kinda plain to be honest, although I wouldn't mind them for a quick snack if I was at a park or something.

[test1023]

I love onigiri! I put all kinds of stuff in the middle, like takuan (pickled daikon), bok choy, and umeboshi. Wraped in nori, it's delicious, filling, and healthy.

[litllebleueyedangel]

omg... i take onigiri to school with me and eat them with chopsticks XD so funny how people rspond...XD

its really easy and very easy

but a question

my mum sometimes cook them in chicken bouiilion lik a soup so they taste like a chicken and rice ball XD

i guess they dont do that in japan right

and what kind of speceries do you usually put on them?

[mrsjudylein]

Want to eat It!!

[SAJANOVA]

why do they have their food packed? it is like everything is packed , i dunno why

[Chuloloc]

Awesome. How to make a fast lunch...THE JAPANESES WAY!!!!

[maodruhy]

where can I get these flavors for rice balls? Are there any online shops? I´d love to make some of my own rice balls:)

[109mytiger]

@maodruhy rice seasoning is called Furikake,you can buy them at japanese or korean, sometime american super market . You can buy at amazon.com too,but shipping fee is not cheap.

[happyinthedark]

Do you like umeonigiri?? None of my friends do!! I don't understand it, lol, it's so good!!

[dbchampwv]

Thanks so much. I am really enjoying your informative videos. Sometime could you address garbage in Japan. I have heard many differt stories on the subject.

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

@dbchampwv

already made a video on that :-)

[MetalBassjunkie420]

Do they have beans in Japanese markets?

[kannarin]

it looks pretty simple,but i bet it aint as easy as it looks to make onigiri.

[PhantomRickshaw]

I don't know about the taste .. but that's cool

[nightskill01]

hmm it looks delicious xD 5 Stars

[RadiationxHazard]

I bet you lose a ton of weight living in Japan. All kinds of walking and healthy eating. ( Well, usually >> )

[0Cravez0]

You do indeed.

I lost 2 stone in 5 weeks while in Japan. Then again i am a Strength Trainer so my added muscle mass helped me burn more calories and the less calories made me drop that much weight but yeah you would drop alot of weight being there!

[Revenization]

do they mix fish with the rice in sushi too? Cause I knew it was rice but my friend said it tasted like fish.........I like sushi................

[Japanesebooknerd2]

I miss the rice balls that they supply at 7/11 stores in japan, they were the best!

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

@Japanesebooknerd2

Check out the eating in Japan playlist.. you can see konbeni onigiri :-)

[totaldramaqueen108]

I am hungry now...

[oopoo64]

Finally got the spice mixture from the Japanese supermarket and it is the best snack ever.

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

good one :-D

[xOxannachanxOx]

Looks tasty! *_* Are there chcolate flavord? I like chocolate. Thanks for the video! xD

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

You could add it if you wanted to :-D

[xmadteaparty]

but hey whaddaya mean 30 seconds you hafta cook the rice and like go get plastic wrap stuff ahah :D

[PyrimidKingJindai]

there are going to have it on hand. And if dont enjoy the rice being cold warm it up for a 30 sec

[DerReisendeGaijin]

Almost everyone in Japan has a rice cooker, and the ones they sell in Japan are awesome. Most have timers so all you have to do is tell your rice cooker what time you want the rice to be ready, put it in the night before, and when you wake up it's waiting for you.

[swany666]

@DerReisendeGaijin Thats pretty dam cool haha

[wurow]

Google wurow!

[StakeJade]

Great idea for a snack.

[theIchthysFish]

So is the rice hot or cold, and do they keep a good bit of cooked rice on hand or just boil some real quick when they need rice balls?

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

We usually cook a heap and then wrap small amounts and put them in the freezer.

When we want them we microwave them to make them hot and sticky and then make the balls.

[misaelksg]

Cool its like good

[torentazos]

i want to eat one of those, darn I'm super hungry now...

[darkchocolateiscool]

where can you find the spice packets? :D

thanks for making the video, btw! i love these things. (:

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

supermarket, convenience store

[chamekke]

This is making me hungry for some umeboshi onigiri...

I know the seasoning that's used is called furikake... but what are the tastiest ones? (in your opinion)

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

To be honest... I don't like them!

But my lady eats them every day.

[Agrzybianek]

Whats the name of those spice packets for the rice?

[xmadteaparty]

how do you eat it? i mean, don't you drop everything on the floor when you open it? :)

[KunoichiKira]

you can actually get rice to stick together quite nicely if you cook it a certain way.

[mczee733]

the rice sticks together they are very yummy

[inkuissuper]

my mom does it the really traditional way

aka with bare hands but it kinda flies in to the air fliping it and later salts it or before doing it put konbu in the middle or other yummy stuff like umeboshi(pickled plum) or salmon but its amazing how my mom can do it

[allgoo19]

inkussuper: "my mom does it.."

That's the way I learned too, by (wet)bare hands.

But if you use furikake, it's going to be messy, I would use wrapper too.

My favorite filling is okaka (katsubushi+soy sauce), then wrapped it with seaweed. Yum...

[JuuhachigouSama]

Post a video of your mom making onirigi!

[inkuissuper]

i don't have a camera...........

[JuuhachigouSama]

Borrow one! =D

[inkuissuper]

how???? and where????????/

[TheTwelfthDoctor]

Mmmmm..... make more of these food-vid's ! =]

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

We have a food playlist :-)

Thanks for watching!

[Evilhamster13]

do you use sticky rice or regular rice?

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

The rice we prefer is regularly sticky :-)

[oopoo64]

I hope asian groceries over here stock the mixes, i wanna try that so bad.

[bloodCLASSIQUE]

they should. usually they'll have the season sesame seads~ but if you buy the ingredients fresh and put them in, it's cheaper and tastes better!~~

[JuuhachigouSama]

MMMMMMMMMMMMM ONIGIRI!! I so want some now. I should totally make some!!

[AreaCode090]

Now I'm a little hungry... :)

Thank for sharing!

[greenajah]

I'm wanting to get a rice cooker, any recommendations?

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

sorry, we use old style!

we use a saucepan!

[allgoo19]

greenajah:

They come in wide variety of features and prices.

From very basic($20.- and up) non-locking lid with "cook, warm" setting, to locking lid with "cook, warm" setting($40.- and up), to computer controlled($150.- and up).

Well known brands are Zojirushi(best and also most expensive), Panasonic, Sanyo and Tiger and other less known brand names. You can find the ratings in Amazon.

I use cheapest Zojirushi locking lid. Non-locking models work fine but little messy.

[kayeruizx3]

awesome

[ZJWS1999]

cool rice balls

^_^ lol

[DemonofChaos264]

Nice. But boiling the rice should count as more than 30 seconds =P.

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

We cook up a big batch of rice and then break it up into small bags and put it in the freezer.

Each bag is big enough for two balls.

When we want them we microwave them for two minutes and then do what you saw there.

So you are right! It takes a little more :-)

[DemonofChaos264]

Cool. Thanks for explaining how to prepare the rice also. ^^

[vierra01]

this is almost like our version of Ramen noodles but a lot healthier

[Heroesrock09]

Cool!

[SuBSiN]

Awesome! mmm i want some now so bad..

[Arcanine88]

Thats pretty neat!

and rather simple to make lol