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Vegan Yaki Onigiri

Vegan Yaki Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)


  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 Onigiri 1x

Description

Vegan Yaki Onigiri are grilled Japanese rice balls filled with teriyaki tofu & avocado and edamame fillings. They are fried until crispy and coated in a sweet & savory sauce. Perfect to take for a picnic or for travelling!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 250 g sushi rice (or short-grained rice)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp sugar

Teriyaki Tofu & Avocado

  • 100 g tofu
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp sriracha
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • avocado slices from 1/2 a small avocado

Edamame

  • 50 g frozen edamame

Toppings

  • 1 nori sheet

Instructions

Make the rice

  1. Wash and cook the rice according to package instructions.

Make the Tofu Teriyaki & Avocado filling

  1. Pat dry the tofu and cut the tofu into small square pieces. Mix the Teriyaki sauce ingredients in a bowl, then mix with the tofu pieces.
  2. Fry the tofu in oil until golden brown on both sides.
  3. Cut the avocado to roughly the same sizes as the tofu pieces.

Make the Edamame filling

  1. Pour hot water over the frozen edamame and let sit for 15-20 minutes. If you have fresh edamame, you can skip this step.
  2. Season with soy sauce to taste, mix and set aside.

Roll into rice balls

  1. *If use an Onigiri mold: Add 2 tbsp of rice in the bottom, followed by the filling and more rice on top. Press down with the Onigiri mold.
  2. *If use your hands: Prepare a bowl of water and gather all the other ingredients.
  3. Wet both hands by dipping them in water. This will prevent the rice from sticking to your hands.
  4. Salt both of your hands and rub together.
  5. Add 2 tbsp rice to your hand, followed by 1 tsp of the filling and 1 tbsp of rice.
  6. Close the rice by wrapping it into a ball.
  7. Press the rice around the filling firmly to create a triangle shape. Use both of your thumbs.

Fry the Onigiri

  1. In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
  2. Lightly oil a pan over medium heat, add the rice ball and fry each side for 2-3 minutes until golden. Brush each side with the sauce before flipping
  3. Remove from pan when done. Cut and wrap the nori around the rice ball (shiny shine out). Brush the nori with some water so it can stick better to the rice balls.

Notes

Wait for the rice to cool down a bit before rolling, as you may burn yourself if it’s too hot.

 
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer, Main Course
  • Cuisine: Japanese

Keywords: college recipes, Japanese recipe, onigiri, picnic recipe, summer snack