Hot Bacon Okaka Onigiri (Hot Bacon and Bonito Flake Rice Balls)

We are on a bit of an onigiri kick at the moment–you may have seen the Tori Meshi (Japanese Chicken & Rice Balls) recipe we shared a few weeks ago–so we were immediately drawn to these Hot Bacon Okaka Onigiri (Hot Bacon Rice Balls) from Tim Anderson’s Hokkaido cookbook. in which he shares cuisine and culture from the seas, fields and farmlands of Japan’s northern region.

Find out more about Hokkaido by Tim Anderson in my full cookbook review.

Print Pin

Hot Bacon Okaka Onigiri (Hot Bacon and Bonito Flake Rice Balls)

Author Tim Anderson

Ingredients

• 4 slices of streaky bacon cut into lardons
• 15 g (½ oz) spent kezuribushi (dried bonito flakes from making dashi), squeezed dry and coarsely chopped, or the same amount of hot smoked salmon, flaked or chopped (see Note)
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp shōyu (soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp sake
• water, as needed
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, optional
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 4 portions of warm cooked rice - from 300 g (10½ oz / 1½ cups) uncooked
• 2 sheets of nori, cut in half

Notes

The recipe calls for a little "spent kezuribushi" (dried bonito flakes from making dashi), squeezed dry and coarsely chopped but I asked Tim what could be substituted if you aren't planning to make dashi. He said that hot smoked salmon would be the best alternative. As it's a small amount, you might also choose to leave it out.

Instructions

• Cook the lardons in a pan set over a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Tip in the chopped kezuribushi, sugar, soy sauce and sake, and add enough water to barely cover. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil, then continue to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Switch off the heat and stir in the sesame seeds, leave to cool, then stir in the mayonnaise.
• To make the onigiri, cut a square of cling film (plastic wrap) and lay it out on the counter, then lay out a half-sheet of nori on top of the cling film. Scoop some rice into the centre of the nori, and make a little well in the centre of the rice. Spoon a quarter of the okaka into this well, then scoop more rice on top. Bring the ends
• of the nori sheet up over the top of the rice, then bundle the whole thing up in the cling film, and use your hands to shape it into a rounded triangle, compressing firmly as you go. Repeat this process to make four onigiri.
• You can eat these warm while they’re still fresh, but
• I think they’re better if they sit around for a while, so the nori fully softens and the flavour of the okaka infuses into the rice. Keep them in their cling film, in the refrigerator, then reheat in a steamer or the microwave.

Once again, we’ve not quite got the knack of shaping onigiri so that they hold together, even using a mould! However, the saucy bacon filling was fabulous with the rice and nori sheets, and definitely one to make again.

You may also like to try the tori meshi (chicken and rice balls) that we shared recently, from the Konbini cookbook.

Find more Japanese recipes and content, here.

Kavey Eats received a review copy of Hokkaido: Recipes from the Seas, Fields and Farmlands of Northern Japan by Tim Anderson from publishers Hardie Grant. Book photography by Laura Edwards. Home cooking photos by Kavita Favelle.