Purpose of Salt

• There are two very specific reasons for using salt on your hands when making onigiri. The most important reason for the addition of salt is for its preservative qualities. Salt helps to slow the spoilage of rice and is particularly useful when the rice balls are made many hours in advance of eating. Salt also prevents the rice from sticking to your hands, making shaping multiple onigiri in a short time possible without the continual removal of rice from your hands.

Constructing Onigiri

• Onigiri are made by hand or with the help of a mold in home kitchens. Lightly salted, Japanese-style rice is the main component of onigiri and makes up the bulk of the onigiri; salted hands increase the salt content further, which is generally only important if the onigiri will not be eaten immediately. A variety of ingredients can be used as the fillings in onigiri, though meats, fish and pickled vegetables and fruits are the most common. Onigiri are either finished by wrapping them in thin sheets of nori seaweed or they are brushed with a soy sauce marinade and grilled.

Alternative to Hand Salting

• While salting your hands when making onigiri helps to prevent sticking, you can also employ other kitchen tools to create the same effects. Lightly salt the rice, mixing it thoroughly throughout the rice before beginning. Use a 1/2-cup measuring cup to create the rice balls; first dip it first in cold water to prevent sticking and shake out excess water. Fill the cup with rice and pack it in well so that the rice is firm. Create a small hole in the middle of the rice to stuff the fillings in; insert a couple of teaspoons of filling into the center and cover with rice to complete the onigiri. Wrap the onigiri with nori seaweed before serving.

Onigiri Tips

• To prepare onigiri in advance, shape and fill the onigiri to completion, omitting the final step of wrapping it in seaweed. Wrap the onigiri shortly before eating so that the seaweed remains crisp to provide a crunchy contrast with the rice. Make onigiri in advance and freeze them without a seaweed wrapping for easy meals on busy days; wrap tightly with plastic wrap before freezing. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator before eating. Experiment with different fillings to suit your personal tastes.