Chihiro's onigiri (Spirited away)

Ever thought what those rice balls Chiriho was eating tasted like? They’re called onigiri, Japanese rice balls typically shaped like triangles.

source: https://buckteethmagazine.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/the-food-of-ghibli-how-fantasy-beats-reality-in-this-food-world-by-lily-linder/

Perhaps you felt sad while watching this scene but also admired how simple yet delicious the onigiri looked!

Here I’m re-creating them with bamboo leaves I happen to have.

Here I’m re-creating them with bamboo leaves I happen to have.

Sushi rice

Puffy, short grained!

Note! Let sushi rice cool completely to avoid mushy rice when making onigiri. You'll thank me

Substitute:

Arborio/risotto rice: these are puffy and short, similar to sushi rice

I would highly recommend seasoning the rice with sushi rice vinegar as this makes the rice taste even more like sushi.

Tuna filling

In the film, I couldn't see if there was any filling inside Chihiro's onigiri so I went ahead with some tuna and Japanese kewpie mayo.

Substitute for tuna

Cooked salmon flakes

Substitute for Japanese kewpie mayo

Regular mayo

Or

Make your own mayo by mixing: mix 1/2 cup vegan mayo + 1/2 tsp rice vinegar + 1/8 tsp dashi granules + 1/2 tsp sugar

Green onion with eggs filling

I was inspired by this breakfast ham and egg breakfast onigiri from this website: https://saltandwind.com/recipes/394-ham-and-egg-breakfast-onigiri-japanese-rice-snack-recipe

For a variety and also because this makes another vegetarian friendly route!

No onigiri mold? No problem, cling film is here to help 😝

1~Take 1/2 of one portion of rice and lay it flat on a piece of cling film. Place a teaspoon of tuna filling in the middle of the rice

2~ Lay the other half of rice portion on top

3~Gather the ends of the cling film and twist the end leaving the onigiri to be in middle.

4~Gently shape with the palms of your hand into a triangular shape, making sure there aren't any bubbles inside.

Taste test: The sushi rice vinegar and Japanese kewpie mayo really paid off for such a simple rice ball! Don't skip on these ingredients. They give some grease in a good way, definitely try this one!

Video version:

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This serves 6

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

300g sushi rice

3 tbsp sushi rice vinegar

Filling no.1:

20g tuna

2 tbsp Japanese kewpie mayo

Filling no.2:

1 egg

1 green onion (green part only, sliced)

Method:

1. Boil sushi rice in a rice cooker. Once cooked, mix the rice with sushi rice vinegar. Let it cool for 30 minutes until cool.

2. Beat an egg. Fry and scramble the egg. Mix with the green onion.

3. Mix tuna and Japanese kewpie mayo.

4. Divide the rice into 6 portions. Take 1/2 of one portion and lay it flat on a piece of cling film. Place a teaspoon of tuna/egg filling in the middle of the rice. Lay the other half of rice portion on top. Gather the ends of the cling film and twist the end leaving the nigiri to be in middle. Gently shape with the palms of your hand into a triangular shape, making sure there aren’t any bubbles inside. Repeat this step for the rest of the portions.

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