Jun 6
2019

Carrot Chip Onigiri

I had a bit of an epiphany recently.  I have said for years that my favorite food was sushi.  But when I was making a batch of onigiri for the kids last month I realized that although I do love sushi, there is another food that is my true favorite—onigiri.  The first thing I ate when we moved to Japan the first time was an onigiri and it’s one of the things I always want to eat first when we go back for a visit.  Onigiri, the humble Japanese rice ball, is total comfort food, loved across Japan by those of all ages.  It’s versatile, portable, and easy to make.  bare Snacks sent me a box of their fruit and vegetable chips to try out and I was brainstorming fun ways to use them (besides snarfing them down, which was happening quickly) when it occurred to me (duh!) that they would make fantastic additions to an onigiri.  

bare Snacks

bare Snacks are baked, never fried, Non-GMO Project Verified and made from real, fresh sliced fruits and vegetables, nothing artificial.  I decided to use the Sea Salt Carrot Chips for onigiri making, because for one, I love carrots, but also because I thought that they would give a beautiful pop of color to the onigiri.  By adding the tiniest bit of extra sea salt (Redmond Real Salt is my go-to), all of the flavors really pop.

bare Snacks Sea Salt Carrot

The steam from the hot rice softens the carrot chips, making them chewy and helping the carrot flavor to combine with the rice.  You can eat them (or pack them in a bento) as they are, or you can add a strip of nori–whatever you prefer!

Carrot Chip Onigiri Bento

Carrot Chip Onigiri

Carrot chip onigiri -- crunchy carrot chips become delightfully chewy when combined with hot steamed rice to make these colorful onigiri (Japanese rice balls).  The carrot chips also give the rice balls great flavor.

Servings 4
Author Rachael Hutchings, www.lafujimama.com

Ingredients

  • 3 cups hot, steamed Japanese rice*
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 1/4 cup roughly crushed bare Snacks Sea Salt Carrot Chips
  • 1/2 sheet nori, cut into 4 pieces (optional)

Instructions

  1. Combine the hot rice with the sea salt and crushed Bare Snacks Sea Salt Carrot Chips in a bowl and toss gently to mix well.

  2. Place a piece of plastic wrap in a rice bowl and scoop one-quarter of the rice mixture into the bowl.  

  3. Pull the edges of the plastic wrap up to make a little pouch.  Mold the rice into a ball or triangle.  Repeat with the remaining rice.

  4. Remove the plastic wrap and wrap the rice balls with nori, if desired.  Serve immediately, or re-wrap with plastic wrap and pack into a bento.

Recipe Notes

*Look for rice labeled as sushi rice or Calrose rice.  You do not want to use a long grain rice, as this rice won't stick together, like a medium or short-grain Japanese rice.

*Disclosure: I received product from bare Snacks, at no cost to myself, to sample.  I was not required to write about the product, nor did I receive any further compensation for my work in developing this recipe, the photography, and writing of this post.  All thoughts and experiences are my own.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

drift boss June 14, 2023 at 8:13 pm

A good recipe! Thank you!

Reply

Rehoboth August 6, 2023 at 6:37 am

Nice post

Reply

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