Grilled Onigiri Recipe

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Japanese grilled rice balls, known as yaki onigiri (), are a simple and well-liked snack or meal in Japan. Unlike onigiri, yaki onigiri can be seasoned with a variety of ingredients such as soy sauce, miso butter, or teriyaki sauce and are grilled, pan-fried, or roasted until the outside crust has a crispy texture and the rice inside is soft and fluffy.

They taste savory, smokey from the grill, salty, and have lots of umami flavor from soy sauce, miso, or teriyaki sauce, making yaki onigiri (), or Japanese grilled rice balls, a quick, easy, and portable snack or lunch.

Short or medium-grain rice, soy sauce (or other seasonings), and oil for making a crispy crust are the only three ingredients needed for these grilled rice balls, which are a great way to use up leftover rice.

How to make YAKI ONIGIRI (Grilled Rice Balls) Easy Japanese Recipe

Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Balls) 🔗

Yaki Onigiri made with Japanese white rice, coated in a sweet-savory soy sauce and grilled until crispy. These Japanese grilled rice balls are great for lunches, snacking and are freezer friendly too!

Prep: -463375h56min

Total: 1min

Serving Size: 1 onigiri

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 onigiri, calories 124, Sugar 2.7g, Sodium 693mg, Fat 1.9g, Saturated Fat 0.3g, unSaturated Fat 1.5g, Trans Fat 0, Carbohydrate 23.1g, Fiber 1.3g, Protein 3.2g, Cholesterol 0

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cooked Japanese short grain rice (320g)
  • 4-5 tbsp soy sauce, mentsuyu or Vegan Japanese Unagi sauce (see notes below for a quick sauce recipe)

Instruction:

  1. Allow the cooked rice to cool down to a point where you can handle it with your hands. Be sure not to let it completely cool. Cover the rice cooker bowl with a damp towel as you work to prevent the rice from drying out. 
  2. Wet your hands with water and rub vinegar between your hands. Dip our pointer finger into some salt and rub between your hands, this will help prevent the rice from sticking to your hands. Take about 1/4 heaping cup of rice and shape into a onigiri, either a circle or triangle shape. See my guide to making onigiri for in depth instructions. You can also use a onigiri mold. 
  3. Lightly oil a pan over medium heat. Grill each side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip them once to prevent the onigiri from breaking. You can also grill the 3 sides of the onigiri if making triangle shaped onigiri. 
  4. Bring the heat to a medium low and generously brush with the sauce. Flip and brush the other side with sauce while the previous side cooks (takes around 15-20 seconds, be sure to not let it burn). Flip once more to grill the other side. Remove from the pan, serve and enjoy!

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