Tuna Mayo Onigiri Japanese Rice (Print View)
Classic Japanese rice balls with creamy tuna filling, ideal for portable lunches and quick snacks.
# What You'll Need:
→ Rice
01 - 2 cups Japanese short-grain rice
02 - 2½ cups water
→ Filling
03 - 1 can (5 oz) tuna in water, drained
04 - 3 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie preferred)
05 - 1 teaspoon soy sauce
06 - ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (optional)
→ Assembly
07 - ½ teaspoon salt
08 - 6 small sheets nori (seaweed), cut into strips
# Method:
01 - Rinse the rice several times under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly.
02 - Cook rice with 2½ cups water using a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to package instructions. Once cooked, let rest for 10 minutes.
03 - In a mixing bowl, combine the drained tuna, mayonnaise, soy sauce, and black pepper. Stir until creamy and well incorporated.
04 - While the rice is still warm but cool enough to handle, wet your hands with water and rub a little salt onto your palms to prevent sticking.
05 - Take about ½ cup of rice and flatten it into a round disc in your palm. Place a spoonful of tuna mayo filling in the center.
06 - Gently fold the rice over the filling, sealing it completely. Shape into a triangle or oval. Repeat with the remaining rice and filling.
07 - Wrap a strip of nori around each onigiri before serving or packing.
# Insider Tips:
01 -
- The filling comes together in about two minutes and tastes exactly like the ones from Japanese konbini stores.
- Shaping onigiri is surprisingly meditative once you stop overthinking the triangle form.
- They hold up beautifully in a lunchbox and stay satisfying at room temperature.
02 -
- Rice that has cooled completely will crack when you try to shape it, so work while it is still warm and bearable to touch.
- Overfilling is tempting but leads to blowouts every time, so keep the tuna mayo portion to about one tablespoon per ball.
03 -
- Wet your hands just barely, because too much water makes the rice surface slippery and the ball will not hold together.
- Use Kewpie if you can find it because the difference in richness compared to regular mayonnaise is genuinely noticeable.