Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

Like cookies or other treats, rice balls are best eaten fresh, just after they have been prepared. The rice should be freshly cooked, and just cooled off enough for you to handle. When shaping the rice balls, keep in mind the shape should be lovely, since the Japanese are very much interested in the aesthetics of their food. Shapes such as long cylinder are common, and if you use this shape you would decorate it with a piece of noi, black seaweed, on the outside, by cutting it into a strip and wrapping it around the cylinder.

You can use umeboshi (picked plums with or without seeds) in the center but cautions that some find the taste quite salty. We suggest using cooked meats or eggs inside the rice balls. You really could use just about anything.

• Salt
• Cooked short grain rice, approximately 1/2 cup for each rice ball (see note)
• Fillings, such as umeboshi, cooked meat or eggs (optional: see note)
• Nori (optional: see note)

1. To make the rice balls: Wash your hands and cover your palms with salt (you can also dip your hands in a bowl of salty water before forming the ball). Grab a handful of rice and shape it into a round or triangle shape, pressing with both hands.
2. If you are filling the rice balls. Make a hole in the top of the rice ball with a chopstick or your finger, then push approximately 1 teaspoon of filling inside the rice. Fill the hole with rice and reshape. If using nori, cut into a thin strip and wrap around the cylindrical shaped rice balls.

For another wonderful rice recipe, try this one for Rice Fritters.

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