This Is Japan
Explore everyday life in Japan
Onigiri, which is often translated as rice ball, is a staple of the Japanese diet. They are put in children’s bento boxes. They are brought on picnics. They are often made in the morning and kept in purses and backpacks to be eaten as a snack later in the day. They are served at some izakayas and restaurants. They are sometimes made to order at bento shops and onigiri stores, and they are sold at all convenience stores and supermarkets.
To be honest, I can’t think of many things that sound blander than a rice ball, but actually, onigiri come in many flavors, have various fillings, and are very, very good. I am especially fond of yaki onigiri, which is a plain, salted rice ball that is lightly glazed with soy sauce as it is roasted over a flame.
Many onigiri are wrapped in a sheet of nori. This nori becomes soft, moist, and somewhat chewy not long after it has been wrapped around a rice ball. For certain kinds of rice balls, this is desirable. For other kinds of rice balls, a fresh, crisp sheet of nori is preferred. In order to sell pre-made and pre-packaged rice balls, which you will find in every convenience store and supermarket across the country, a special kind of packaging needed to be designed. According to the Onigiri Association, the current form of onigiri packaging was developed in the 1980’s. After a little pulling here and a little pulling there, I’m sure that anybody can figure out how to open this packaging, but seeing as how I was absolutely lost the first time that I tried to open a store-bought onigiri, I would like to walk you through the steps you will need to take in order to open two common kinds of onigiri in Japan.
Let’s begin with the triangular onigiri.
1
You will find a white tab that has red arrows printed on it near the upper corner of the onigiri. Pull on this tab.
2
Continue pulling on this tab from the front side of the onigiri to the back side until you have completely removed this strip of packaging from the onigiri.
3
Pull on both of the lower corners of the packaging until you have separated the packaging from the onigiri itself. Be careful when doing this. There is a layer of packaging that separates the nori from the rice and can easily get caught on the nori if you pull to hastily. This will tear the nori.
4
Congratulations! You have successfully opened your first store-bought onigiri. I'm sure you would have figured it out on your own, but hopefully, you have found this explanation helpful just the same.
Next, let's open a roll-shaped onigiri.
1
You will find a white tab that has a blue arrow printed on it. Pull on this tab.
2
Continue to pull on this tab until you have completely removed this strip of packaging from the onigiri.
3
Roll open your onigiri, and carefully pull the plastic wrapping from the strip of nori that sits beneath the rice. Again, if you pull too quickly, you may tear the nori, so don’t rush.
4
Now that you have removed the packaging from your strip of nori, you will find a new set of packaging that is wrapped around the rice.
5
Lift up the package of rice that you have and separate it from the strip of nori. Then peel the plastic packaging away from the surface of the rice that is facing you. Do not remove the plastic packaging from the rice entirely. Be sure to leave the packaging underneath the rice. This will help to keep your hands clean.
6
Place your strip of nori on top of the exposed rice like this.
7
Turn your onigiri over.
8
Remove the last of the plastic packaging from your rice, and roll the strip of nori around the rice. Now you are ready to eat. Enjoy!
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting daily updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.
You really did take a lot of photos, I think its impossible now to make it wrong ^^
But what about a bit more history (not only here)? Like: Where did it come from, was there some special meaning, was it a menu created for the war... etc. As fat as I know people love such info tidbits. I do, too.
You're absolutely right, I could have included more historical information about the onigiri, and maybe that would have added more value to this post, I am always conscious about the length of my posts, though, and I wanted this post to be a How To post that highlighted the design of onigiri packaging, which I think is incredible, in a secondary sort of way.
Onigiri really is and has been a staple food in Japan for a long time. Using only two sources to gather this information, http://www.onigi-re.com/knowledge/history/ and http://www.o29riclub.com/knowledge/history.html (mostly the latter), I can tell you this.
There is fossilized evidence from Ishikawa Prefecture that suggests onigiri have been eaten in Japan since around 100 AD. Up until relatively recently, maybe 100 or 150 years ago, onigiri were considered to be something of a fast, portable food. It could be taken anywhere and eaten anywhere quickly. As such, it was a food for soldiers, field workers, and travelers for a long time. Nowadays, onigiri are thought of as an everyday food to be eaten and bought at home, at restaurants, on the go, etc.
Prior to the mid Edo Period, around 1600, onigiri were apparently wrapped in bamboo leaves. I don't know what economic conditions prompted the transition to nori, but according to the websites I referenced, people began wrapping onigiri in nori for two reasons. One: nori has a high nutritional content. Two: nori is both edible and it keeps the rice from sticking to a person's hands and fingers.
In addition, onigiri hold a special place in many old Japanese folktales, the versions of which change from place to place. Also, the first 'Eki Ben' (station bento), which began being sold in Utsunomiya Station in 1885, was an onigiri bento that included two onigiri that were flavored with sesame seeds.
I hope this comment satisfies your curiosity a little more.
It's able to buy various taste onigiri at a convenient store in Korea either. It's called 'Sam-Gak-Gim-Bap' which means 'rice in triangle'. I remember a Japanese onigiri included some white veggies. It was a good taste. Enjoyed your post again :)
I forgot that Korea sells onigiri in convenience stores, too. Thank you for reminding me. Japanese onigiri also have a lot of versions that are influenced by Korean cuisine as well, onigiri that are flavored with kimchi and Korean style barbecue flavored meat, etc.
Thanks for reading my posts!