Rice balls!!!!!

[Yuki-Anne]

Soy sauce is just salty, that's all. It doesn't taste nasty if you don't put too much on your food. Anything is nasty if you use too much of it.

I encourage culinary experimentation. Learning to appreciate different types of food instead of eating only what you're comfortable with can open up your world so much.

[Xeno]

Soy sauce is just salty, that's all. It doesn't taste nasty if you don't put too much on your food. Anything is nasty if you use too much of it.

I encourage culinary experimentation. Learning to appreciate different types of food instead of eating only what you're comfortable with can open up your world so much.

I concur. May I suggest you sample some of the mountain oysters while you're at it?

Honestly though, soy sauce is basically a staple in asian cuisine. It's fine if you don't like it outright, but you probably eat various dishes that are made containing it and have no idea.

[Yuki-Anne]

Honestly though, soy sauce is basically a staple in asian cuisine. It's fine if you don't like it outright, but you probably eat various dishes that are made containing it and have no idea.

Not many people know this, but soy sauce is a key ingredient in German Chocolate Cake.

[SierraLea]

Does anyone have a good recipe? I want to try making them for my family and want to get it right the first time so they fall in love with them and want to know more about Japan, so I can get them to think that Anime and manga aren't a total waste of my time.

[Davidizer13]

What about Thai sweet chili sauce, that radioactive-orange chunky stuff with all the Asian languages on the bottle? That goes pretty well with rice or noodles; the taste tends to overpower most of the other flavors in the dish, but if it's just rice, it shouldn't be too bad.

[K. Ayato]

You must mean Sriracha. Yes, it is quite powerful if you've not developed a tolerance, but rice works as an excellent counter to the heat.

[Yuki-Anne]

[quote="Davidizer13 (post: 1593874)"]What about Thai sweet chili sauce, that radioactive-orange chunky stuff with all the Asian languages on the bottle? That goes pretty well with rice or noodles]

Actually, what I would recommend doing along those lines is making sweet chili shrimp (or sweet and sour shrimp) and putting it inside the rice ball. Done it; it's really good.

Sierra, what flavors does your family usually like? Rice balls are so versatile that you can ease them in slowly by making them with a tried and true flavor that your family loves.

[skreyola]

my cousin tried to make rice balls. but he is bad at shaping things so they came out as rice triangles.

According to the site someone linked later in this thread, that's the traditional shape... and I see it a lot in animes, so triangular onigiri aren't a failure.

[Atria35]

Does anyone have a good recipe? I want to try making them for my family and want to get it right the first time so they fall in love with them and want to know more about Japan, so I can get them to think that Anime and manga aren't a total waste of my time.

Rice balls might spark an interest in Japanese food (maybe, but it's seriously just rice with stuff inside. You can say the same of Mexican rice, when it comes right down to it), but there is absolutely no connection between being interested in Japanese food to not thinking anime and manga are pointless.

Don't bug out so much about them not liking/appreciating a hobby you have. You don't *have* to share interests with all of them. That would be creepy.

[Xeno]

Rice balls might spark an interest in Japanese food (maybe, but it's seriously just rice with stuff inside. You can say the same of Mexican rice, when it comes right down to it), but there is absolutely no connection between being interested in Japanese food to not thinking anime and manga are pointless.

Don't bug out so much about them not liking/appreciating a hobby you have. You don't *have* to share interests with all of them. That would be creepy.

THIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Davidizer13]

You can say the same of Mexican rice, when it comes right down to it

I think you may be on to something there - using Mexican rice in rice balls, maybe with more spicy and/or South Asian-inspired stuff? Then again, I've never had a rice ball or tried anything like this, so I have no idea what I'm talking about, as usual.

[quote="Yuki-Anne (post: 1593902)"]Actually, what I would recommend doing along those lines is making sweet chili shrimp (or sweet and sour shrimp) and putting it inside the rice ball. Done it]

I'm not a huge fan of shrimp - are we talking fried shrimp here, or plain? If it's fried, I wonder about replacing it with some tempura chicken, 'cause I'll take any excuse to put chili sauce on something.

[Ella Edric]

Did somebody say rice?

This made me laugh. So hard. XD I seriously couldn't stop staring at it for like a minute. Hahaha

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I don't know. I forgot what it tastes like but I just don't think it looks good and every time I see the packets of it at the Chinese food place I never get it. I always usually get plain fried rice every time but I've had it where they put some kind of meat in it before. Like chicken or some other kind of meat that I don't know what you call it. I don't really eat many of the beef dishes either.

But fried rice is usually cooked in soy sauce...

[Jigzy]

Really? I never knew that.

[mechana2015]

Thats why it's kind of tan but still sticks together. If it was brown rice it wouldn't stick.

[Sammy Boy]

I like onigiri with only a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top.

But fried rice is usually cooked in soy sauce...

I am curious ... really? I've eaten lots of fried rice, mine's never done in soy sauce....

[K. Ayato]

I've had garlic fried rice without the soy sauce a few times in the past. I'm sure there are other fried rice recipes that don't include it, but the one thing that makes it different in appearance from steamed rice is the addition of the soy sauce to give it that nice brown color.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I am curious ... really? I've eaten lots of fried rice, mine's never done in soy sauce....

I mean like the kind you get from a chinese carry-out or a hibachi grill or something.

[Lilac#18]

[color="Plum"]I've never tried rice balls, but I've always wanted to.[/color]

[Mr. SmartyPants]

[color="Plum"]I've never tried rice balls, but I've always wanted to.[/color]

Ever had rice? It's like that but shaped in a ball form.

[Yuki-Anne]

Well, now, not quite, because the filling is what makes it interesting. And the seaweed, if you're into that.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

My mistake. I thought it was just rice and seaweed. Maybe some sesame seeds here and there.

[Yuki-Anne]

Fish eggs, man. Fish eggs.

[Rusty Claymore]

I've made some recently using Tuna-Kewpi Mayonaise and some with Himeboshi(Pickled Plums). When I was in Japan I learned a few tricks for onigiri, one being to salt your hands before you make one. It makes it extra tasty. Lil' sis also figured out that if you get your hands wet, burning-lava hot [S]tar[/S] rice won't stick to your hands, just to the onigiri.

If anybody would like, I could post pictures on the technique I use to make the triangle onigiri.

[skreyola]

I think that would be interesting.

[Yuki-Anne]

I've made some recently using Tuna-Kewpi Mayonaise and some with Himeboshi(Pickled Plums). When I was in Japan I learned a few tricks for onigiri, one being to salt your hands before you make one. It makes it extra tasty. Lil' sis also figured out that if you get your hands wet, burning-lava hot [S]tar[/S] rice won't stick to your hands, just to the onigiri.

If anybody would like, I could post pictures on the technique I use to make the triangle onigiri.

...himeboshi? I believe you mean umeboshi. But those are some nice tips anyway.

[Rusty Claymore]

。　。　。/facepalm.

Yes, umeboshi. Thank you Yuki-Anne. >_<

[Cleanedbyblood]

I tried making some once with a sushi kit (they had only the rice and the nori in the kit I picked up at walmart (I haven't seen them in a while so I'm thinking they stopped carrying it). They were plain and tiny but I had fun making them

[Tohru]

I remember making them last year after watching Fruits Basket for the first time haha They tasted good, but it became extremely messy

[mysngoeshere56]

I've made onigiri several times before, and I've used all sorts of ingredients. I've made a lot of bento boxes so I've made them in their traditional shapes with the nori, smaller triangles, flower-shaped, stars, and more. My mom's a major Star Wars fan, so I've even used molds to make them look like small yoda faces.