00:00Wi-Fi told you Japan's most popular convenience store food takes just 15 minutes to make at
00:04home. In this video, I'll show you how this simple creation became a cultural phenomenon
00:10and how to make it perfectly every time. For a printable version of this recipe,
00:14visit my website, just google chunamayo nigiri space that you'd find me.
00:18Let's start with our tuna filling. Take 80g of canned tuna in oil and place it in a colander
00:24or sieve over a bowl. Now go ahead and squeeze out the excess liquid as thoroughly as possible.
00:33This step is absolutely crucial. We need to get rid of as much moisture as possible
00:37or our onigiri will turn into a sad soggy mess and nobody wants it.
00:42Now transfer it to a bowl and mix in 1 tablespoon of Japanese mayonnaise,
00:50add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
00:58Mix it all together and you've got yourself a creamy flavourful filling.
01:05Next, I have about 700g of cooked Japanese rice. That's about 2 Japanese rice cups before cooking.
01:12I'm going to shape the first one by hand, so begin by dipping your hands in a bowl of
01:17cold water. This will stop the rice from sticking. Next, rub your palms with a bit of salt. This adds
01:23flavour and also helps preserve the rice if you're not planning on eating it straight away.
01:28Grab a handful of rice, about 100-120g worth. Press it on your palm and make a dent in the
01:35centre for the filling. I'm adding about 2 teaspoons worth of tuna mayo in here. Be careful not to add
01:42too
01:42much or it will become too difficult shape. Once all the filling is in, fold the rice over to enclose
01:48the filling in the rice, then press and turn to shape it into a rounded triangle. This is a classic
01:54onigiri shape but you could make it round or circular if you prefer.
01:58Tuna mayo onigiri has quite the origin story. The whole thing started when a 7-Eleven developer noticed
02:04his son absolutely devouring tuna mixed with mayo and had the lightbulb moment of what if we wrapped
02:11that in rice. Sometimes the simplest ideas are pure genius aren't they?
02:16For the final touch, wrap each onigiri with a strip of nori seaweed. Not only does this make
02:21them easier to hold without getting sticky fingers, but it also adds this wonderful crunch
02:26and that delicious savoury sea flavour that perfectly complements our tuna filling.
02:31If you're not a fan of handling sticky rice, you can use plastic wrap to shape instead. Start by
02:37laying the plastic wrap on a flat surface and sprinkle it with a bit of salt. Place your rice
02:42in the centre, then use your rice puddle or the back of teaspoon to make a dent in the middle,
02:47just like how we do if we're shaping by hand. After filling, this time I'm making a flavour
02:52variation by adding a small blob of wasabi. This adds some heat and goes perfectly with both the tuna
02:59and mayo. Okay, now we're gonna shape it. So take two opposite edges of the plastic wrap and pull them
03:05up to meet in the middle to close the rice balls. Then wrap and shape as you would usually. This
03:12method
03:12is especially great if you want to put it in the freezer for another day. If you're eating it straight
03:17away, then you can go ahead and add the nori. However, if you're putting it away for later,
03:21it's better to leave the nori off until right before serving so it maintains its crisp texture. If you're looking
03:28for uniformity, a rice ball mould is the way to go. Fill it halfway up with rice and just like
03:34before,
03:35make a little dent in the centre to hold the filling. This time I'm adding a sprinkle of chilli
03:41powder before adding the rest of the rice. If you're feeling adventurous, you could add a pinch of
03:45shichimitogarashi chilli sauce or even a touch of curry powder for something different. And for an extra
03:52umami bomb, try adding a tiny pinch of dashi granules. It's your onigiri, make it your way.
03:57Sprinkle it with a bit of salt, push the lid on to compress the rice, then pop it out of
04:02the mould
04:03and that's it. Perfectly shaped every time. Wrap it with nori and there you have it,
04:08beautiful chinamaya onigiri. They're best enjoyed fresh when the nori is still crisp
04:13and the rice is at the perfect temperature. Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my
04:18free cookbook from the link in the description. Ok, let's go over the ingredients one more time.
04:25And if you're ready to cook, grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with
04:29a picture that's about to pop up on your screen. There we go, the link to the full recipe is
04:33on
04:33the screen for you now and if you want to watch more similar videos, don't miss my rice ball
04:37playlist popping up on your screen as well. Thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you in
04:41the
04:41next one. Bye.
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