One of the most popular foods for the Japanese people is the onigiri. This food is made of rice usually shaped in a triangular or cylinder form and which is also wrapped in nori or seaweeds. Onigiris are typically filled with pickled ume, tarako, kombu, katsuobushi, salted salmon, and other sour or salty ingredients which serve as the natural preservatives.
Nowadays, many stores are already putting up some stocks of different varieties of flavours and of fillings since it became much more popular in many different places. The popularity has grown into many parts of the world, most especially
best rice balls in Long Island. Even those small stalls and stores are now offering and selling take out for onigiris.
Misconceptions have come out ever since, comparing an onigiri to sushi, in which people have said that onigiris are types of sushi. But there is really a big difference between the two since the onigiri is a plain, lightly salted rice and the sushi is a rice mixed with sugar, vinegar, and salt. Also, the onigiri makes the rice more portable and more easy to eat and the sushi is made to preserve fish.
Before, most manufacturers prefer on producing it manually, which means to do the hand rolling techniques because this technique may be impossible for the machines to perform. But recently, modern machines have been manufactured and are used now for shaping a rice ball in triangular form. In this process, fillings are put through holes instead of filling it when rolling.
But there is just one disadvantage when machines are used, the nori often becomes sticky and will moist easily because it is wrapped to an onigiri even before placing in the machine. But improvements have been produced for packaging to separate rice from the norm. So before eating it, the diner will be opening first the packet of nori and will wrap the onigiri.
One of the important advantages of limitations of machines is that it helps in producing new flavours easier because of using holes when filling instead of filling it when rolling. And also, it makes the production a lot easier because the process of cooking does not require any changes of ingredients from time to time. The modern onigiris now are wrapped with a special plastic wrapping that would act as a barrier of moisture.
The rice balls typically are made of boiled white rice, but there are also some other variations including kowameshi or okowa. Okowa is a type of either cooked or steamed rice which is glutinous and are often cooked in mixture with vegetables like red beans. A mazegohan is another variation. It also called as mixed rice and is mixed and cooked with some preferred ingredients.
People before believed this food is originated in samurai rice balls that are wrapped with the leaves of bamboo. And they also believed that most of the Japanese food also is originated in the samurai innovations. But from the historic battlefields, it became available in stores.
Most stores nowadays have been selling onigiris. And one of the popular cities, where these are sold, is Long Island. Many people also have started on making this dish at their homes. Nikumaki, ikura, mayonnaise and salmon, tuna mayo, mentaiko, etc., are some of its popular varieties.
