Furikake Onigiri (Rice Balls with Homemade Furikake)
ふりかけおにぎり · Furikake Onigiri
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Furikake is the savory topping Japanese families sprinkle over rice, and here it is made from scratch in a few minutes: tiny dried sardines and sesame seeds toasted in sesame oil, seasoned with a little soy sauce, then tossed with green seaweed flakes and bonito flakes. Mixing it straight into freshly cooked rice and shaping it into onigiri turns a plain bowl of rice into something children can pick up with their own hands, which is exactly why it disappears so quickly at preschool. The shirasu and sesame also add calcium in a form that even small children eat happily.
Wheat-free, but uses soy sauce (made with wheat). Japanese school-lunch allergy menus usually allow it, so check with your doctor. How to read the labels
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 60 griceJapanese short-grain white rice (japonica), which cooks up soft and slightly sticky. The amount listed is for uncooked rice. Substitute: Sushi rice, or another short-grain or medium-grain rice such as Calrose.
- 3.6 gshirasu (dried baby sardines)Tiny, lightly salted and dried whole baby sardines that add gentle saltiness and calcium. Substitute: A small amount of flaked canned sardines, or omit.
- 1.5 gwhite sesame seeds
- 0.4 gaonori (green seaweed flakes)Fine, fragrant flakes of dried green seaweed sprinkled over dishes like okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Substitute: Crumbled nori sheets, or omit.
- 0.5 gkatsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)Paper-thin shavings of dried, smoked skipjack tuna that add a savory, smoky depth as a topping or stock base. Substitute: A pinch of dashi powder, or omit.
Seasonings
- 0.4 gsesame oil
- 0.2 gsoy sauce
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- rice (米)
- Japanese short-grain white rice (japonica), which cooks up soft and slightly sticky. The amount listed is for uncooked rice. Substitute: Sushi rice, or another short-grain or medium-grain rice such as Calrose.
- shirasu (dried baby sardines) (しらす干し)
- Tiny, lightly salted and dried whole baby sardines that add gentle saltiness and calcium. Substitute: A small amount of flaked canned sardines, or omit.
- aonori (green seaweed flakes) (あおのり)
- Fine, fragrant flakes of dried green seaweed sprinkled over dishes like okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Substitute: Crumbled nori sheets, or omit.
- katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (かつお削り節)
- Paper-thin shavings of dried, smoked skipjack tuna that add a savory, smoky depth as a topping or stock base. Substitute: A pinch of dashi powder, or omit.
Directions
- 1
Cook the rice as you normally would.
- 2
Sauté the shirasu and sesame seeds in the sesame oil, then add the soy sauce. Add the aonori and katsuobushi and mix everything together.
- 3
Mix the furikake into the freshly cooked rice and shape into onigiri (rice balls).
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 225 kcal | 450 kcal | 225 kcal |
| Protein | 5.3 g | 10.5 g | 5.3 g |
| Fat | 2 g | 3.9 g | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 47 g | 93.9 g | 47 g |
| Fiber | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.2 g | 0.3 g | 0.2 g |
| Calcium | 34.5 mg | 69 mg | 34.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.9 mg | 1.8 mg | 0.9 mg |
| Potassium | 81 mg | 162 mg | 81 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 225 kcal | 5.3 g | 2 g | 47 g | 0.6 g | 0.2 g | 34.5 mg | 0.9 mg | 81 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 450 kcal | 10.5 g | 3.9 g | 93.9 g | 1.2 g | 0.3 g | 69 mg | 1.8 mg | 162 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
