which rice for Onigiri?

[boomchakabowwow]

i used Calrose last time and it wasnt cohesive enough.

what are you all using? i am soaking sticky rice now for tomorrow's Faan Tuan - a chinese breakfast burrito of sorts.

got me thinking about Onigiri which would make an awesome lunch while floating around on my kayak bass fishing. last friday, all i hate was girl scout cookies and was NOT a GOOD IDEA. gross almost. i cant even look a girl scout in the eye for the next 2 years.

 

[SylvainM]

Hi,
Did some yesterday I use organic Selenio variety, wash 4 times then off in the rice cooker (1.2 times water for 1 rice for me, and added a couple of spoons of Xiaojing wine in the water), then wait for it to click I season it after cooking with 4 spoons of rice vinegar for 2 spoons of sugar. It held perfectly fine (I'm usiung triangle onigiri molds though), and today they were still very good.
I join you, onigiris make a wonderful outdoor lunch !!
Enjoy !

 

[The Forest Ninja]

I would go with sticky rice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onigiri

 

[jakuda]

any medium grain rice works well. Long grain/thai jasmine/basmati does not.
Short grain/koshihikari does too, but is more expensive.

 

[sumis]

i encourage you to buy what seems ridiculously priced rice variants as well as short grain nishiki (or similar brand). i'm no expert, but over the last years i've gone through a bunch of different variants imported from japan (to sweden) by a special small scale importer i've gotten to know. koshikari, nanatsuboshi, and other types from smaller farmers to larger scale producers. it sure makes a difference, but so does how you cook it. if cooking for many, i just use nishiki short grain rice (the pink bag).

i actually use short or medium grain rice for most everything, apart from when basmati is a must. i don't have a rice cooker, and i take my time with it. i like the results, but i guess most sushi chefs would laugh at it.

.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

you all are upping the water:rice ratio?

 

[EShin]

a rice of the japonica type is a must for onigiri, as the indica types have too high amylose contents and won’t be sticky and become hard when cold. Even among japonica types there’s varieties with low (8-15%) amylose content that were bread especially for eating cold such as onigiri, so they will be best (sticky and remain soft). I have no idea what’s available there, but milky queen and yume pirika are the most famous low amylose varieties in Japan. Typical Japanese varities such as koshihikari will still be ok. When cooking the rice, use about 10% less water. Then you should be able to form rice balls without using much pressure. I’m sure there will be a learning curve but it’s not difficult. My recommendation is yaki onigiri: https://mizkanflavors.com/recipe/yaki-onigiri-japanese-rice-balls/

 

[sumis]

a rice of the japonica type is a must for onigiri, as the indica types have too high amylose contents and won’t be sticky and become hard when cold. Even among japonica types there’s varieties with low (8-15%) amylose content that were bread especially for eating cold such as onigiri, so they will be best (sticky and remain soft). I have no idea what’s available there, but milky queen and yume pirika are the most famous low amylose varieties in Japan. Typical Japanese varities such as koshihikari will still be ok. When cooking the rice, use about 10% less water. Then you should be able to form rice balls without using much pressure. I’m sure there will be a learning curve but it’s not difficult. My recommendation is yaki onigiri: https://mizkanflavors.com/recipe/yaki-onigiri-japanese-rice-balls/

thanks!

.

 

[MarcelNL]

I still want to try Carnaroli for Sushi, anyone ever try that?
(would save me some space in the cupboard, and open bags of rice tend to be prayed upon by little bugs living in it...

 

[Michi]

I still want to try Carnaroli for Sushi, anyone ever try that?
(would save me some space in the cupboard, and open bags of rice tend to be prayed upon by little bugs living in it...

Two things I do with rice, flour, and dried herbs, as well as many spices to avoid getting the creepy-crawlies:

• Put the unopened bag/sachet/container into the freezer for 24 hours. If there was anything alive in it, it most likely is dead after that.
• Get a bunch of airtight (and liquid-tight) containers to keep bulk pantry item in.

For containers, don't believe the manufacturer's claims. For example, the Oxo Pop 2.0 containers are garbage. Not airtight and won't hold liquid and, if you drop one, it will shatter. (Been there, tried that.)

I have dozens of Sistema Ultra containers in various sizes. They are tight, period. Perfect to store all sorts of things, from small amounts of nuts, herbs, spices, and seeds, to bulk items such as flour, rice, and pasta. The square shape is more space-efficient than round containers, and they stack solidly, without things toppling over even if you stack several containers. And, unlike some other good quality containers (such as Rubbermaid), the Sistema ones are affordable.

 

[MarcelNL]

a freezer quarantine is indeed a good idea!
We've dealt with food moths, and their larvae eat and or crawl their way into almost any container with something to their liking...we've eradicated those by now.

Recently we had this bugger....explosion like, but luckily only in rice;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_weevil