TOKYO (AP) — The word “onigiri” has become an integral part of Oxford English Dictionary this year was proof that the humble ball of sticky rice, a mainstay of Japanese cuisine, has entered the global lexicon.
Rice balls are stuffed with a variety of fillings and usually wrapped in seaweed. It is an everyday dish that embodies “washoku” — traditional Japanese cuisine which was designated UNESCO intangible cultural heritage ten years ago.
Onigiri is “fast food, slow food and soul food,” says Yusuke Nakamura, who runs the Onigiri Society, a trade group in Tokyo.
Fast because you can find it even in convenience stores. Slow because it uses ingredients from the sea and mountains, he said. And soul food, because it is often prepared and eaten with family and friends. No tools needed, just gently cupped hands.
“It’s also mobile, food on the move,” he said.
Onigiri, in its oldest form, is thought to date back to at least the early 11th century; he is mentioned in “The Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu. It appears in Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1954 film, “Seven Samurai,” as the ultimate gift of gratitude from farmers.
What exactly is in onigiri?
The sticky characteristic of Japanese rice is essential.
What is placed inside is called “gu” or filling. A perennial favorite is umeboshi, or salted plum. Or maybe mentaiko, which is hot, spicy eggs. But in principle, anything can be placed inside an onigiri, even sausages or cheese.
Then the ball is wrapped in seaweed. Even a nice big onigiri would make a meal, although many people would eat more.
Some stick to classic onigiri
Yosuke Miura runs Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku, a restaurant founded in 1954 by his grandmother. Yadoroku, meaning “good for nothing”, is named after her husband, Miura’s grandfather. It claims to be the oldest onigiri restaurant in Tokyo.
There are only two tables. The counter has eight chairs. Takeout is an option, but you still have to wait in line.
“No one likes onigiri,” Miura said, smiling from behind a wooden counter. In a display case in front of him are bowls of gu, including salmon, shrimp and miso-flavored ginger. “Basically, there’s nothing special about it. All Japanese people ate 100% of it.
Also a classical flautist, Miura considers onigiri to be a score passed down from his grandmother, which he faithfully reproduces.
“In classical music, we play what is written on the score. Onigiri is the same,” he says. “You’re not trying to do something new.”
Yadoruku is nestled in Tokyo’s quaint old neighborhood called Asakusa. It opens at 11:30 a.m. and closes when it runs out of rice, usually within an hour. Then it reopens for dinner. The most expensive onigiri costs 770 yen ($4.90), with salmon roe, while the cheapest costs 319 yen ($2). This includes miso soup. No reservations are taken.
A variety of onigiri, rice balls, are seen on a plate at a Taro Tokyo Onigiri store in Tokyo, June 5, 2024. The word “onigiri” just made it into the Oxford English Dictionary this year. The humble sticky rice dumpling, a mainstay of Japanese cuisine, has entered the global lexicon. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Although onigiri can be round or square, animal or star shaped, Miura’s standard is triangular. He prepares them to order, before your eyes, in just 30 seconds for each.
He places the hot rice in triangular molds that resemble cookie cutters, rubs his hands with salt, then cuts the rice three times to gently firm up the sides. The crispy nori, or seaweed, is wrapped like a scarf around the rice, with one end raised to keep it crispy.
The first bite is just nori and rice. The gu comes with your second bite.
“Yadoroku onigiri will not change until the end of the Earth,” Miura said with a smile.
Others want to experiment
Miyuki Kawarada runs Taro Tokyo Onigiri, which has four outlets in Japan. She is also eyeing Los Angeles, then Paris. His vision: to make onigiri “the fast food of the world”.
The name Taro was chosen because it is common, the Japanese equivalent of John or Michael. Onigiri, she says, has mass appeal because it’s simple to prepare, gluten-free and versatile.
And other Japanese dishes like ramen and sushi have found worldwide popularityshe notes.
In his cheerful, modern store, workers in khaki T-shirts busily prepare gu and rice balls in a kitchen visible behind the cash register. The store only serves takeaway meals.
Kawarada onigiri has lots of gu on the top, for colorful garnishes, rather than inside. Each comes with a separately wrapped piece of nori to place around just before eating.
His gu becomes adventurous. Cream cheese is mixed with a tangy Japanese pickle called “iburigakko,” for example, and each onigiri costs 250 yen ($1.60). Spam and egg onigiri cost 300 yen ($1.90); the one adorned with several types of “kombu” or edible kelp, called “Dashi Punch X3,” costs 280 yen ($1.80).
“Onigiri is the infinite universe. We are not bound by tradition,” Kawarada said.
Customers
Asami Hirano, who stopped while walking her dog, took a long time to choose her meal at Taro Tokyo Onigiri recently.
“I have always loved onigiri since I was a child. My mother made them,” she said.
Nicolas Foo Cheung, a Frenchman who works nearby as an intern, had been to Taro Tokyo Onigiri several times before and thinks it’s a good deal. “It’s simple food,” he says.
Miki Yamada, a food promoter, intentionally calls onigiri “omusubi,” the other common word for rice balls, because the latter more clearly refers to the idea of connections. She says her life’s mission is to bring people together, especially since the triple earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster struck her family’s rice field in Fukushima, northeastern Japan, in 2011.
“In confronting the omusubi, I encountered a spirituality, a kind of fundamental Japaneseness,” she said.
There’s nothing better, she says, than plain Aizu omusubi rice with a pinch of salt and absolutely nothing inside.
“It energizes you. It’s the ultimate comfort food,” she said.
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Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama