Japanese Crispy Rice Balls
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!
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
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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.
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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
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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.
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For the filling, mix together all the ingredients.
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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.
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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.
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To serve, I garnished this with sriracha, mayo, green onions, pickled ginger, and furikake seasoning. Enjoy!