Tuna Mayo Onigiri
At Tokyo commuter kiosks, neat rows of rice triangles wait beside coffee and train tickets, continuing a portable-food tradition that reaches back centuries. Tuna mayonnaise is the modern konbini…
Ingredients
- 2 cups Japanese short-grain rice
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 2 5-ounce cans canned tuna in water, drained
- 1/3 cup Japanese mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 3 sheets nori sheets, cut into strips
- 1 teaspoons fine salt
Instructions
- Set out a fine-mesh strainer, a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid or a rice cooker, a medium bowl, a small bowl, a clean cutting board, and a baking sheet. Drain the tuna thoroughly and slice the scallions before cooking; the filling should be ready while the rice is still warm, because warm rice bonds cleanly around the center.
- Place the rice in the strainer and rinse under cool running water for 2 to 3 minutes, gently rubbing the grains with your fingers, until the runoff is almost clear. Drain for 10 minutes. This removes loose surface starch while leaving enough of the rice's natural stickiness for shaping.
- Transfer the rinsed rice and 2 1/4 cups water to the saucepan. Let it stand for 15 minutes, then cover and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as steam escapes steadily from beneath the lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid; the rice is ready when the water has disappeared and the grains look plump and glossy.
- Turn off the heat and leave the covered pot undisturbed for 10 minutes. This resting stage finishes steaming the center of each grain and prevents wet, crushed rice during shaping. If using a rice cooker, allow the rice to remain on its warm setting for 10 minutes after the cooking cycle ends.
- While the rice rests, combine the drained tuna, mayonnaise, soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, and sesame seeds in the medium bowl. Fold with a fork until the tuna is evenly coated but still has small flakes rather than becoming a paste. Taste a small amount and adjust only if needed; the filling should be distinctly savory because the plain rice will soften its intensity.
- Turn the hot rice into a wide bowl and gently fold it with a rice paddle or spatula for 30 seconds to release excess steam. Let it cool for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until it is warm and pliable but comfortable enough to handle; do not refrigerate the rice before shaping, or the grains will harden and crack.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of the salt with 1/2 cup cool water in a small bowl. Wet both hands, sprinkle a pinch of the remaining salt over your palms, and scoop about 2/3 cup warm rice onto one hand. Flatten it into a thick oval, place about 2 generous tablespoons of tuna filling in the center, and pull the rice up around it, pressing gently until no filling shows.
- Shape the rice into a firm triangle by cupping one hand against the side and using the other hand to press down and turn the rice three or four times. Use light pressure: the surface should hold together without becoming dense, and the corners should be defined but rounded. Set each finished onigiri on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining rice and filling, rewetting and resalting your hands between pieces.
- Let the onigiri stand uncovered for 10 minutes so the exterior dries slightly and firms up. Cut each nori sheet into two wide strips and wrap one strip around each rice triangle only after the onigiri has cooled to room temperature; wrapping too early traps steam and turns the seaweed limp.
- For an office lunch, place the onigiri in a shallow airtight container lined with parchment, keeping extra nori in a separate dry packet or small container. Chill the packed onigiri promptly, carry them with a frozen gel pack, and eat within 4 hours of leaving home; let them sit for 10 minutes before eating so the rice loses its refrigerator chill. If preferred, wrap each triangle in parchment rather than plastic, which reduces condensation.
Watch the Tuna Mayo Onigiri cooking video
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