"Grilled" Miso Onigiri with Recipe! (焼きおにぎり)

One of the first recipes I ever tried was making onigiri and I have loved it ever since! I love trying to make different variations of onigiri and although I have made grilled miso onigiri before, I thought I would make them better than ever before! I am going to apologize ahead of time because I didn't take a lot of pictures because I didn't think about putting it on my blog until after I started making it! >.< I will do a full recipe for this one of these days!

Here is what you will need:

For the Chicken Karaage:

-1 boneless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces

-1 Tbsp. soy sauce

-1/2 Tbsp. ginger juice

-1/2 Tbsp. sake

-1/2 beaten egg

-1 Tbsp. flour

-1 Tbsp. potato starch

-Vegetable or canola oil for frying

For the Yaki Onigiri:

-Freshly steamed rice

-2 tsp. toasted black sesame seeds

-1 Tbsp. shiro miso

-1 Tbsp. mirin

-1/2 tsp. brown sugar

-A pinch of instant dashi powder

-2 tsp. sesame oil

First I made the chicken karaage. I cut the chicken and placed it in a glass container. Then I added in the soy sauce, ginger juice, and sake and mix well with your hand. Make sure to tightly cover the container  and placed it into the fridge for marinate for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, toast some black sesame seeds and set them aside. Also cook the rice for the onigiri and set it aside as well. You should also prepare the oil on the stove for frying.



After 30 minutes, drain the now marinated chicken and place it back into the container. Add in the beaten egg, flour, and potato starch and mx it well with your hand.



Using kitchen chopsticks, gently place a few pieces of chicken in the pot at a time and allow them to cook for 5-7 minutes or until a nice and crispy golden brown. When they are done, place them on to a paper towel to get rid of the excess oil. Do this until all of the chicken is gone!

I don't have pictures for this part, but I will explain what I did. Get a medium sized bowl and place some of the rice in it with the rice paddle and add some of the toasted sesame seeds. Using the rice paddle, mix the rice with the sesame seeds until mixed thoroughly.

Next, get a piece of saran wrap and place it on your hand. Use the rice paddle to pick up some rice and place on the palm of your hand. Place a piece of the chicken in the middle of the rice and place a little more rice on top. Close the rice in the saran wrap and mold it into whatever shape you want it to be. Without actually touching the onigiri, unwrap it and place it on a plate and repeat until all of the rice is gone!



This is how they should look! Almost there! :P

Okay, I have some pictures for this next step!




For the miso sauce, combine the miso, mirin, brown sugar, and dashi powder and mix it well using kitchen chopsticks.




Next, turn the burner on medium heat and add in the sesame oil. When the oil is hot, place two onigiri onto the pan and cook both sides until light brown.



Get your kitchen brush ready because this next part has to be done quickly!



Gently brush on the miso sauce and flip them using tongs and then brush it on the other side and flip it again. Pay close attention because the sauce can burn VERY easily! Do this to either half or all of your onigiri and...THEY'RE DONE! :D



At first I only "grilled" half, but after trying one, I grilled the rest!!! xD



These onigiri are so delicious and lasted about three days before my boyfriend and I ate them all!



Here is what they look like on the inside!

Onigiri is so versatile, you can be really creative when it comes to what you want to have in the center! Please try it and see what you like best! ^-^