♥Onigiri (御握り; おにぎり)♥

♥Omusubi (御結び; おむすび)♥

Wat is Onigiri?

Onigiri is a very common food in Japan. It is also known as omusubi and nigirimeshi and is often included in packed lunches. Onigiri literally means "taking hold of (something) with your hands". Onigiri is made by cupping hot, freshly boiled rice in your hands and pressing down on it so that it is soft inside and firm outside. We usually include a filling of fish roe, pickled plum, etc., in the center. Japanese often take onigiri, especially rather large oval or triangle-shaped ones, with us for lunch when we go flower-viewing in the spring or to sporting events in the autumn because onigiri tastes good even after it has cooled. The filling inside is rather salty which prevents the rice from spoiling.

おにぎりは日本でとてもポピュラーな食べ物です。「おむすび」や「握り飯」とも呼ばれ、お弁当などによく用いられ ます。炊き立ての熱いご飯を手にのせ、中に好みの具を入れ、中はふんわり、外はしっかりと握って作ります。形や大きさは様々です。三角や俵型の大きめのも のは、持ち運びやすいので、春のお花見や遠足などに持っていくのに便利です。おにぎりは冷たくなってからもおいしく食べられますが、具にはふつう腐らない ように塩気の多いものを使います。

The History Of Onigiri....

In former times, onigiri was called tonjiki. In the Heian period, tonjiki was a meal given by the nobility to people of lower position to eat when they were outside.

Until the beginning of the Showa period, the people rolled leftover rice into balls, broiled the surface and then spread it with soy sauce. This was called yakimusubi. It was very popular for its homemade flavor.

Now, many kinds of onigiri which contain different fillings, such as yakiniku (grilled beef), tuna salad, etc., are sold at convenience stores.

おにぎりは昔「屯食」と呼ばれていました。屯食は平安時代に貴族が庭で身分の低いものに与えた食事だと言われています。昭和初期までは残飯を握 り、表面を焦がす程度に焼いてしょうゆを塗った焼きむすびが家庭の味として庶民に愛好されました。今では、コンビニエンスストアなどでツナ＆マヨネーズや 肉など様々な具のおにぎりが売られています。

A Fairy Tale About Onigiri....

The Battle Of Monkey And the Crab
There once was a crab who had a single onigiri. A monkey was walking by and ran into the crab. The monkey said to the crab, "Hey, Mr. Crab, how about trading that onigiri for this persimmon seed I have? You only have one onigiri but if you plant this persimmon seed, you can have lots of persimmons to eat." The crab said "Oh, OK" and he traded his onigiri for the persimmon seed. Some years later, the seed that the crab had planted had grown into a big tree with many persimmons. When the monkey saw this, he felt that he had gotten the short end of the deal and decided to pick on the crab. "Hey, Mr. Crab, look how big your persimmons have gotten. I gave you the seed so these fruits are mine," he said, and he climbed up the tree and hurled the persimmons down on the crab, hurting him.

The crab, who was very upset, decided to ask his friends - a bee, a rice mortar, and a mallet for help. "I want to teach that monkey a lesson." A few days later, the crab invited the monkey to his house. When the monkey tried to enter, the bee stung him. Then, the rice mortar and mallet dropped on top of him. "You tried to steal the crab's persimmons, so you were bad," they all said. The monkey started to cry and said "I'm sorry, I won't do it again. Please forgive me." After that, they all had a good time eating persimmons and became friends.

さるかに合戦
あるところにおにぎりを持っている１匹の蟹がいました。蟹が歩いていると１匹の猿に出会いました。猿は蟹に言いました。「かにさん。僕の持ってい るこの柿の種と君のそのおにぎりを交換しないかい？おにぎりは１こしかないけど、この種を植えれば柿がたくさん食べられるよ。」蟹は「うん。いいよ。」と 言って、持っていたおにぎりと交換しました。数年後、蟹の植えた柿の種は、とても大きな木になり、たくさんの柿の実をつけました。それを見た猿は、損をし た気分になり、蟹をいじめることを思いつきました。「おーい、蟹さん。柿の種はこんなに大きくなったんだね。僕があげたんだからこの木も柿の実も僕のもの だ。」と猿は言って、木の上に上り、柿の実を蟹にぶつけました。蟹はけがをしてしまいました。

困った蟹は、友達に助けを求めることにしました。「猿さんをこらしめたいんだ。」そして、数日後、蟹は猿を家に呼び出しました。猿が家の中に入ろ うとすると、いきなり蜂が襲いかかってきました。そして、上から臼と杵が落ちてきました。「蟹さんの柿を横取りしようとするからいけないんだぞ。」みんな は言いました。猿は泣きながら、「もうしません。許してください。」それから、みんなで楽しく柿を食べて仲直りしました。

HOW TO MAKE ONIGIRI??

	Start off by wetting your onigiri mold. This will help the rice pop out more easily. Remember to re-wet the mold between onigiri. You should be using freshly made (or at least reheated) short-grain/sushi rice.
	Add warm rice into the mold to just below the half-way mark. Use the back of the rice paddle to spread the rice out evenly in the mold.
	Make a small indentation in the rice for the filling to go in.
	Place a small amount of your filling into the center of the rice - do not overstuff! Here, I have used tuna in a red curry sauce. If using a 'wet' filling such as this, you should squeeze out any excess liquid. If the rice gets too wet, it will fall apart.
	Add additional rice to fill the mold, but do not 'pack' the mold as you're filling it.
	Use the lid of the mold and press down onto the rice. Gentle pressure should be needed. If there is too much give, you may not have used enough rice (just put some more in and press again). If you can't press the lid down all the way, then you've used too much.
	Remove the lid, invert the mold, and press down on the center 'button' to help the rice ball slide out.
	Place the onigiri on a square of nori (1/4 sheet) with the shiny side of the nori down. (You can see some leakage due to my not-so-thorough removal of excess liquid from the curried tuna.)
	Place another square of nori on top of the onigiri, shiny side up and at an angle to the other piece of nori (such that the corner of one sheet is lined up with the side of the other, etc.). This is to make sure you can cover all surfaces of the rice.
	Wrap the onigiri with the nori by pressing the nori gently onto the surface of the rice. The nori will adhere to the stickiness of the rice. If you let the rice ball sit too long and the surface is too dry for the rice to stick, just wet your hands and rub them over the rice ball. Then dry your hands before handling the nori (or it will stick to you).
	Once all the rice has some nori positioned on it, wrap your hands around the onigiri and press gently to ensure that it is well-wrapped.
	Cut off any excess nori that isn't sticking to anything (optional).
	Voila! A wrapped and stuffed onigiri that is ready to be eaten. You can pack it as is into a bento box, or you can wrap it in plastic wrap first. If you don't plan to eat the onigiri later in the day, it can be stored in the refrigerator, but the rice may become hard. In that case, just throw the onigiri in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften the rice, let it cool, then eat.
	Enjoy!