Tuna Mayo Onigiri
Tuna mayo onigiri is a Japanese rice ball (onigiri) typically filled with canned tuna and Japanese mayonnaise. It is a popular item in Japan and can be found in Japanese convenience stores, bento boxes, and homemade lunches. It's also super easy to make, so here's the best recipe for making tuna mayo onigiri at home.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Uncooked Japanese short grain rice (or about 9 cups cooked rice)
- 1 can Tuna
- 4 tbsp Kewpie mayo
- 1 tbsp Dashi powder
- Pinch of salt to taste
- 6 Nori sheets (half sheet per onigiri)
Instructions
- Wash and drain rice 4-5 times until water is less cloudy. It will not be completely clear.
- Cook rice. Depending on the rice cooker, it will take about 30-60 minutes.
- If you are using premade rice, make rice per package instructions
- In the meantime, make tuna mayo filling
- Drain water from canned tuna
- Add tuna in a medium-sized bowl and mash the tuna until tuna pieces are small and flakey
- Add in mayo, dashi powder, pinch of salt and mix together
- Once the rice is done, take hot rice and transfer a few scoops in a different bowl. This will allow the rice to cool faster so you don't get burned.
- When the temperate of the rice drops (it is still hot, but not burning hot), water and salt your hands to prevent rice from sticking to your hands
- Take a scoop of rice and place it in the palms of your hand
- Then place a scoop of tuna mayo mixture in the center
- Add more rice on top to cover the tuna mayo mixture
- With your other hand, add pressure to the rice from the top. Just enough pressure for the rice to come together. It should look like a glob of rice lying horizontally on your hands
- Now bring the onigiri up on its side so it is sitting vertically on your hands
- Form a triangle or v shape with the bottom of your hand, and with your other hand, apply pressure, keeping your palms straight. Think of your hands creating a triangle shape - your bottom hand is the pointed top, and your top hand is the flat bottom
- Rotate the onigiri so all three sides of the triangle shape are evenly shaped and onigiri is firm
- If you are eating the onigiri now, wrap the onigiri in nori and enjoy!
- If you are using plastic wrap, then place half a sheet of nori in between the plastic dividers
- With the plastic sheet placed vertically, put the onigiri on the top half with the pointed side up
- Bring the bottom of the sheet to the top to cover the onigiri
- Wrap onigiri and tape the loose ends
- When you are ready to eat it, remove the string at the top and bring it down the onigiri, remove the plastic sheets from both sides and wrap the onigiri with the nori and enjoy!