Japanese Crispy Rice Balls — with a beautiful golden brown crust and creamy, spicy filling, these are the ultimate snack or appetizer! Coming together quickly and dressed up with some simple garnishes, these are both stunning to look at and bound to be a family favorite!

WATCH HOW TO MAKE JAPANESE CRISPY RICE BALLS:

We’ll start by washing our rice to remove the excess starch and you want the water to turn clear. I’ve used sushi rice here but you can use any short grain rice which makes this recipe so versatile with whatever you have on hand! Transfer this to a pot with some water and let this cook until nice and fluffy.

For the filling, we’ll add crumbled paneer or sauteed tofu, bell peppers, cabbage, spring onions, some cream cheese, soy sauce, ginger garlic, sriracha, and sesame seeds. Give this a gentle mix and our filing is ready!

In our cooked rice, we’ll add salt, sugar, and rice vinegar like they traditionally do for sushi.

To form the rice balls, apply some water on your hands and add a scoop of rice, followed by a small spoon of the filling. Gently press this together to shape it. You can also use an onigiri mold for this triangle shape. I shared this technique on my stories and had hundreds of DMs to see the process. This is such a fun shape, I love it this way too!

In an appe pan, heat oil and add your rice balls. Let this become beautifully golden brown and crispy on both sides, you can add a little extra oil if needed.

And now it’s time to garnish these with some sriracha, mayo, green onions, furikake seasoning, pickled ginger, and any toppings you like! Trust me, these are going to become your new favorite thing.

If you like this, please try my other recipes:

• Achari Paneer Upside Down Puff Pastry
• Crispy Corn Fritters
• Baked Sooji Appe – Veggie Semolina Bites

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Japanese Crispy Rice Balls

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

 

Japanese Crispy Rice Balls — with a beautiful golden brown crust and creamy, spicy filling, these are the ultimate snack or appetizer! Coming together quickly and dressed up with some simple garnishes, these are both stunning to look at and bound to be a family favorite! 

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Fusion, Indian, Japanese

Keyword: party

Custom Category: Appetizers, Fusion, Snacks

Servings: 8

Calories: 148 kcal

Author: Nidhi Bothra

Ingredients

Rice:

• 1 cup sushi rice , or use any short grain rice
• 1 cup water , adjust for short grain rice
• 2 tsp rice vinegar , or regular vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• oil , for pan frying

Filling:

• 1/2 cup paneer or sauteed tofu , crumbled
• 3 tbsp mixed color bell peppers , finely diced
• 3 tbsp cabbage , finely diced
• 3 tbsp spring onions , finely chopped
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Toppings:

• sriracha
• mayonnaise
• green onions
• furikake seasoning
• pickled ginger

Instructions

1. Wash the sushi rice in water 2-3 times until the water remains clear. You can use any short grained rice of your choice too.

2. Transfer to a pot with 1 cup of water and let it come up to a boil on medium-high heat. Then, let it cook covered on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes. Check the rice in between to make sure it’s not sticking to the edges. If you are using any other short grain rice instead of sushi rice then adjust the quantity of water accordingly

3. Switch off the gas and let the rice sit for 10 minutes. Then, transfer the warm rice to a bowl and mix in the vinegar, salt, and sugar.

4. For the filling, mix together all the ingredients.

5. To form the balls, wet your hands and place a scoop of the rice in your palm. Flatten the rice into a circle and add a small spoonful of the filling in the center. Gently fold the sides of the ball up and seal it around the filling. You want the ball to be roughly the same size of an appe/paniyaram pan mold if you are using that. You can even make these into onigiri using the triangle mold or a flatter, tikki shape.

6. In an appe or paniyaram pan, heat 1/4 tsp oil in each of the molds. Then, add in the rice balls and let it crisp up on low-medium heat for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Then, flip them and let cook on the other wise as well. Drizzle a little extra oil as well when flipping. You can gently rotate the rice balls to ensure they crisp up from all sides.

7. To serve, I garnished this with sriracha, mayo, green onions, pickled ginger, and furikake seasoning. Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Nutrition Facts

Japanese Crispy Rice Balls

Amount Per Serving

Calories 148 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.5g

Cholesterol 13mg4%

Sodium 333mg14%

Potassium 44mg1%

Carbohydrates 20g7%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 87IU2%

Vitamin C 4mg5%

Calcium 82mg8%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.