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Nikumaki onigiri (pork-wrapped rice balls)

The onigiri with the meat on the outside: little barrels of rice wrapped in paper-thin pork belly, dusted with cornstarch, fried in sesame oil until the pork is golden and crisp, then rolled in a soy, sake and mirin glaze with garlic and ginger until they shine. It started as a staff meal at an onigiri shop in Miyazaki in the late 1990s and went national. Cook the rice as for onigiri — plain short-grain rice, still warm. Two each makes a meal, one a snack.

6 rice balls~25 min (with rice cooked)
Nikumaki onigiri (pork-wrapped rice balls)

Mise en place — set out in the order it goes in

  1. Rice
    Ricewarm, short-grainStep 1
  2. Pork belly
    Pork bellylong, paper-thin slicesStep 2
  3. Cornstarch
    Cornstarchon a plateStep 4
  4. Glaze
    Glaze
    • soy
    • sake
    • mirin
    • sugar
    • ginger
    • garlic
    Step 5
  5. Sesame oil
    Sesame oiltoastedStep 6
  6. To finish
    To finishsesame · shiso (optional)Step 8

Prep order — what happens when, and what overlaps

minutes
0510152025
Shape the barrels 5 min
5 min
Wrap lengthways 4 min
4 min
Wrap round the middle 3 min
3 min
Dust with cornstarch 1 min
Mix the glaze 2 min
2 min
Fry until crisp 7 min
7 min
Glaze 2 min
2 min
Sesame, shiso, serve 1 min
Bowl / counterBoardPan / stove

Step by step

  1. Wet your hands and shape 50 g of rice into a little barrel.
    Wet your hands and shape 50 g of rice into a little barrel.

    1Shape the rice barrels

    ~5 min

    For this step

    • Cooked Japanese short-grain rice300 g
    • Divide the warm rice into six 50 g portions.
    • Wet your hands and shape each into a little barrel (tawara), about 6–7 cm long.
    • Press firmly enough that it holds together, but don't crush the rice.
    Shape the rice barrels
    Should look like this
  2. Stand the barrel on the slice and take the slice up over the top end, and down the other side.
    Stand the barrel on the slice and take the slice up over the top end, and down the other side.
    Snip off the excess with scissors.
    Snip off the excess with scissors.

    2Wrap lengthways

    ~4 min

    For this step

    • Pork belly, thinly sliced9 long slices
    • Lay a slice of pork belly on the board and set a barrel on it, pointing the same way as the slice.
    • Wrap the slice lengthways around the barrel — under it, up over one end, along the top, over the other end and back to the start. Rice still shows on the two long sides.
    • Snip off the excess with scissors and keep it for the next step.
    Wrap lengthways
    Should look like this
  3. Wrap the trimmed piece and half a slice round the middle until no rice shows.
    Wrap the trimmed piece and half a slice round the middle until no rice shows.

    3Wrap round the middle

    ~3 min
    • Wrap the trimmed piece plus half a slice the other way, round the middle, until no rice shows anywhere.
    • Each ball takes about 1½ slices. Pull the pork snug — any gap lets the rice fall out in the pan.
    Wrap round the middle
    Should look like this
  4. Roll each ball in the cornstarch, then tap off the excess.
    Roll each ball in the cornstarch, then tap off the excess.

    4Dust with cornstarch

    ~1 min

    For this step

    • Cornstarch (or potato starch)1 tbsp
    • Spread the cornstarch on a plate.
    • Roll each wrapped ball in it for a thin, even coat, then tap off the excess — it makes the pork crisp and thickens the glaze later.
    Dust with cornstarch
    Should look like this
  5. Stir the glaze together.
    Stir the glaze together.

    5Mix the glaze

    ~2 min
    • Stir together in a small bowl:
      • soy sauce
      • sake
      • mirin
      • sugar
      • ginger, grated
      • garlic, grated
    • Or mix it while the balls fry.
    Mix the glaze
    Should look like this
  6. Seam side down first — it seals the wrap.
    Seam side down first — it seals the wrap.
    Turn every minute or so until golden and crisp on every side.
    Turn every minute or so until golden and crisp on every side.

    6Fry until crisp

    medium~6–8 min

    For this step

    • Toasted sesame oil½ tbsp
    • Heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
    • Put the balls in with the seam side down — it seals the wrap.
    • Fry, turning every minute or so, until golden and crisp on every side and the pork is cooked through, about 6–8 minutes.
    Fry until crisp
    Should look like this
  7. Wipe the fat out of the pan with kitchen paper.
    Wipe the fat out of the pan with kitchen paper.
    High heat, pour in the glaze and keep rolling until it's thick and sticky.
    High heat, pour in the glaze and keep rolling until it's thick and sticky.

    7Glaze

    high~2 min
    • Wipe the fat out of the pan with kitchen paper.
    • Turn the heat to high and pour in the glaze.
    • Keep rolling the balls until the sauce boils down to a thick, sticky glaze that coats them all over, 1–2 minutes. If it thickens too fast, turn the heat down — it burns quickly.
    Glaze
    Should look like this
  8. Wrap one in a shiso leaf.
    Wrap one in a shiso leaf.

    8Finish and serve

    ~1 min

    For this step

    • Toasted white sesame seeds (optional)1 tsp
    • Shiso leaves (optional)6
    • Off the heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
    • Wrap each ball in a shiso leaf if you like — fresh, and easier to hold.
    • Eat them hot, while the pork is still crisp.
    Finish and serve
    Should look like this

Based on: Sudachi Recipes (Yuto Omura) — Pork-wrapped rice balls (nikumaki onigiri) · Japanese Cooking 101 — Nikumaki onigiri (the beef version)