I love onigiri, but over here in Europe they are still pretty niche, and by niche I mean expensive.
It's basically a sandwhich, right? Only that it costs 5-10x more.
Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
11–20 of 78 posts
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#12I love onigiri, but over here in Europe they are still pretty niche, and by niche I mean expensive. It's basically a sandwhich, right? Only that it costs 5-10x more.
They cost 1.99–2.69 € where I live (depending on the supermarket chain). A pair of soggy toast sandwiches is about the same price.
It’s not the cheapest snack in terms of calories per Euro (they are around 130 kcal), but still reasonable.
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#13My wife is opening a drive-thru restaurant which serves these (among other Asian foods like musubi and lumpia and such). Pricing as of now looks like $3 a pop, which is comparable to the pricing at the local Mitsuwa. Convenience store onigiri in Japan are of course generally a lot cheaper (especially with the current exchange rate).
https://www.tsunagujapan.com/16-top-selling-items-at-lawson-...
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#14Fond memories of grabbing a few of these in the little shop within Shimokitazawa station, people watching with my wife as we wolfed them down, then heading off to the train with satisfied stomaches to explore Tokyo. Are they hard to make at home? I haven't found great/reliable spots to get these in SF. (Where are the great SF spots for these??)
> Are they hard to make at home? I haven't found great/reliable spots to get these in SF. (Where are the great SF spots for these??)
A number of Japanese students I knew just used leftover rice to make onigiri for lunch the next day.
In SF, Super Mira on Sutter & Buchanan has an assortment. And of course Nijiya. I don't think Onigilly is anything special.
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#15Fond memories of grabbing a few of these in the little shop within Shimokitazawa station, people watching with my wife as we wolfed them down, then heading off to the train with satisfied stomaches to explore Tokyo. Are they hard to make at home? I haven't found great/reliable spots to get these in SF. (Where are the great SF spots for these??)
I think they are super easy to make.
My tip is to go to a japanese grocery store and buy an onigiri mold for $3. All you do is stuff the rice (and fillings) into the mold and press. Keep the mold in a bowl of water between making balls (like they keep ice cream scoops in water)
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#16Fond memories of grabbing a few of these in the little shop within Shimokitazawa station, people watching with my wife as we wolfed them down, then heading off to the train with satisfied stomaches to explore Tokyo. Are they hard to make at home? I haven't found great/reliable spots to get these in SF. (Where are the great SF spots for these??)
There are some good spots in Japantown I like Kissako tea in the japan town mall...
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#17I love onigiri, but over here in Europe they are still pretty niche, and by niche I mean expensive. It's basically a sandwhich, right? Only that it costs 5-10x more.
Just steam some sushi rice, choose a filling, maybe salt the rice a bit if you want and form it into the shape with your hands. If you want wrap it with some nori, salt or put furikake on it. No need to pay the foreign Japanese food tax! It’s dead simple to make, and whoever is selling that ripoff onigiri to you is probably not even Japanese anyway.
(Admittedly the rice here does taste better in my opinion, but so it goes…)
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#18had the best home made onigari in japan ever. they don't mess around over there
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#19Fond memories of grabbing a few of these in the little shop within Shimokitazawa station, people watching with my wife as we wolfed them down, then heading off to the train with satisfied stomaches to explore Tokyo. Are they hard to make at home? I haven't found great/reliable spots to get these in SF. (Where are the great SF spots for these??)
I think they are super easy to make. My tip is to go to a japanese grocery store and buy an onigiri mold for $3. All you do is stuff the rice (and fillings) into the mold and press. Keep the mold in a bowl of water between making balls (like they keep ice cream scoops in water)
You can also buy specific Japanese rice varieties that are better textured when cold. You can also figure out how to store them without the nori touching the rice
Re: Japan's humble onigiri took over lunchtimes around the world
#20Fond memories of grabbing a few of these in the little shop within Shimokitazawa station, people watching with my wife as we wolfed them down, then heading off to the train with satisfied stomaches to explore Tokyo. Are they hard to make at home? I haven't found great/reliable spots to get these in SF. (Where are the great SF spots for these??)
> Are they hard to make at home?
A bit. I've tried it but didn't have a ton of success. Main thing I found is use plastic wrap when trying to shape the rice, or else it tends to stick to your hands more than it sticks to itself.