Vegetable Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)

 
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Onigiri became my one of my greatest obsessions when I was pregnant—rice balls stuffed with some kind of filling, pan fried until crispy, and wrapped in seaweed. But it’s hard to find many vegetarian options. And frequent trips to the Japanese market weren’t exactly convenient, so I decided to create my own. My onigiri are far from the traditional, but are absolutely delicious. I’ve provided the recipe for two of my favorite versions here, but you can stuff them with just about any veggies you like; I’ve also done jackfruit, broccoli and spinach versions. And while you can make these with just your hands, I highly recommend getting this rice mold to make your life easier. Have fun with it!

 

Phe Count:

SHITAKE MUSHROOM
147 mg phe / rice ball
Roughly 3g of protein / 10 exchanges
Yield: 8 rice balls

KIMCHI
140 mg phe / rice ball
Roughly 3g of protein / 9 exchanges
Yield: 8 rice balls

Ingredients:

760g sushi rice, cooked (approx 4 C)  
1 Tbsp peanut oil 
2 Tbsp butter 
2.5 Tbsp Nori Komi Furikake Seasoning
⅓ C scallions

In each rice ball: 
95g sushi rice (approx ½ C)          
20 g (2-2.5 Tbsp) of filling, see below          
1 tsp furikake seasoning                      
Yield: 8 rice balls

To reduce the amount of phe rice ball:
Replace some of the sushi rice with low protein rice. I recommend at least a 50/50 mix if your phe tolerance allows.
This helps ensure the rice can still bind together. 
With 50% low protein rice, each rice ball would be approximately 90mg phe / rice ball, give or take.

SHITAKE MUSHROOM VERSION:
330 g shitake mushrooms, raw  (approx 5.5 C)
1 Tbsp sesame oil 
3 cloves garlic, finely minced 
1 Tbsp brown sugar 
2 tsp rice wine vinegar 
2 tsp mirin 
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce 
½ tsp sriracha

Directions:

STEP 1: PREPARE YOUR FILLING

  1. Cook your rice and let it cool so you will be able to handle it with your hands.
    Note: you must use sushi rice or a combination of sushi rice and low protein rice to get these balls to bind and stay together.

  2. Clean and thinly slice your shitake mushrooms. 

  3. Heat peanut oil in a medium skillet, on medium heat. When the pan is hot, add your mushrooms and cook them until they have softened and begun to brown.
    Note: at first the pan will seem quite dry. Continue to stir the mushrooms, and they begin to cook, they’ll release their own moisture to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

  4. Once the mushrooms have softened, don’t stir too frequently. This will allow them to brown on the bottom of the pan. 

  5. When thoroughly cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

  6. Return your pan to the stove and turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the sesame oil. 

  7. Add your minced garlic and cook until it begins to soften (just a couple of minutes). 

  8. Then, add your brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, mirin, soy sauce and chili paste and stir until all ingredients are well mixed and look like a syrupy liquid in the bottom of your pan.

  9. Continue to simmer your sauce until it reduces slightly and the sugar begins to caramelize. (about 5 minutes)

  10. Add your mushrooms back to the pan and stir until they are well (and evenly coated). Set aside to cool. 


STEP 2: CREATE / STUFF YOUR RICE BALLS

  1. Measure 95g of sushi rice and then, divide that amount in half. (You can eyeball this. Roughly one half will work just fine)

  2. To get ready to assemble, quickly rinse the inside of your rice mold and your fingertips with water. This will help prevent the rice from sticking.

  3. Put half of your rice in the bottom of your rice mold. Push it down with your fingers to compact it, so the rice sticks together. Push the center down more than the outer edges, so there is a ‘crater’ of sorts to hold your filling.
    (The sides of your rice ball will look higher than the middle)

  4. Then, add 2 - 2.5 Tbsp (20g) of shitake mushrooms to the rice ball, filling (and overflowing) the crater you just formed with your fingers.  You want to keep the mushrooms in the middle of the rice ball so you can’t see any of the filling from the side.

  5. Then, top your filling with the rest of the rice and push down with your fingers, to begin compacting both halves of your rice ball together. 

  6. To further compact and finish your rice ball, put the the other half of your mold in place (on top) and squeeze the top and bottom together, to ensure your rice ball doesn’t fall apart.

  7. In the bottom of your mold, there is a divot. Gently push it with your finger until your rice ball comes out of the mold. Set it aside and repeat these steps to create the others. 

  8. Spread your furikake seasoning in a thin layer, on a small plate. Gently roll the outer edges of each rice ball until they are lightly covered with the seaweed mixture.

  9. Then, melt your butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is evenly coated, put your rice balls in and leave cooking until the rice begins to brown and turn crispy. Then, flip them and do the same to the other side. (You will likely have to cook them in two batches) 

  10. To finish, top with scallions, leftover mushroom filling, eel sauce and sweet mirin mayo (sauce recipes below).

KIMCHI VERSION:
144g kimchi (store-bought, your choice) (approx 1 C)

Directions:

  1. Roughly chop your kimchi so it’s in small pieces and squeeze it to remove any excess moisture.

  2. Follow Steps 1 - 9 under “How to create each rice ball” (above), replacing kimchi where mushrooms are noted. 

  3. To finish, top with scallions, leftover kimchi, gochujang sauce and sweet mirin mayo. (sauce recipes below)

Sauce Recipes:

For Eel Sauce: 
½ C soy sauce 
½ C mirin
⅓ C white sugar

Heat all ingredients in a pan over medium heat, until sauce reduces to about ¾ C. Stir frequently.

Note: For phe calculations, I count this sauce the same as I do soy sauce. I don’t use much of it, but if you want to reduce the amount of phe, you can replace soy sauce with reduced sodium soy sauce and/or replace half of the soy sauce with coconut aminos.


For Sweet Mirin Mayo:
1 C mayonnaise 
3 Tbsp mirin 
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar 
1 tsp garlic powder 

Whisk all ingredients together. If you want your sauce slightly thinner, add more mirin but avoid more vinegar. This sauce is supposed to be on the sweeter side.

Note: For phe calculations, I could this the same as I count mayonnaise.


For Gochujang Chili Sauce:
5 Tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar 
1 Tbsp vegetable broth
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil 
1 tsp garlic powder

Whisk all ingredients together. If you need to thin it further, and/or are having trouble getting everything to mix evenly, microwave it for 30 seconds and stir in just a touch of water.

Note: I don’t usually count the phe in this sauce. It’s very low and I don’t use much of it, compared to the serving size on the back of the gochujang package. (noted as less than 1g)


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