Japanese Crispy Fried Rice Balls With Tuna Orange Wasabi Sauce Recipes

ONIGIRI (RICE BALLS)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine rice and water; let stand for 30 minutes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from the heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes., In a small bowl, combine the tuna, soy sauce and wasabi. With wet hands, shape 1/2 cup rice into a patty. Place 1 tablespoon tuna mixture in the center. Shape rice around tuna to enclose filling, forming a triangle. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

ONIGIRI (JAPANESE RICE BALLS)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients.

JAPANESE CRISPY FRIED RICE BALLS WITH TUNA & ORANGE WASABI SAUCE

Steps:

• Add cooked, cooled rice to a bowl. Chop spring onions and cilantro finely and add to the rice. Grate the ginger and add half of it to the rice. Drain tuna and add as well. Mix rice mixture well and season with salt and sugar.
• Shape 1 heaping tbsp of rice mixture into a ball and place onto a big plate lined with cling film. Continue with the rest of the rice mixture until all is used up. Chill the rice balls covered with cling film for 2 - 3 hours or overnight.
• Mix 1 tbsp orange juice with 1/2 tsp of cornstarch. Heat leftover orange juice with wasabi, leftover ginger, 1 tsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt until it starts to boil. Add cornstarch slurry and let the sauce thicken. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and cover with cling film and chill.
• Halve the Nori sheets. Moisten one half with some water to make it more malleable. I use a spray bottle for this. Wrap this moistened Nori sheets around one of the chilled rice balls and press gently between cupped hands to shape a ball. Repeat with all rice balls. If you run out of Nori Sheets, that's no problem. The rice balls can be breaded and fried without Nori.
• Heat the oil in a pot or deep dish until a thermometer reads 170 Celsius or 338 F. In the meantime, crack eggs into a shallow bowl and measure out cornstarch and panko into 2 separate bowls.
• Roll tuna balls in cornstarch, then dip into egg mixture and finally coat with panko. Fry balls in the hot fat for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Don't add more than 4 balls to the hot fat at one time to keep the temperature steady. Transfert done rice balls on a plate lined with paper towels.
• Serve Tuna Rice Balls with Orange Wasabi Sauce.