Is high starch, short to
medium-grain rice pressed into hand-sized shapes, such as balls or triangles, rolled
in toasted sesame seeds, and wrapped in delicate sheets of seaweed or nori. Onigiri
is also called omusubi (お結び) or nigirimeshi (握り飯; にぎりめし).
Onigiri are easily eaten on the go and typically form the contents of a bento
box lunch. They are often filled with other savory elements that taste
yeasty like tamari sauce, intense seafood, and or a slightly sour flavor,
typically katsuobushi (dried, fermented and smoked skipjack tuna-鰹節). Examples of fillings are kombu (kelp-昆布),
tarako (a processed food item made of Alaska pollock salted roe-鱈子), and
umeboshi (dried,salted or pickled plum-梅干). Onigiri can
be purchased where snacks are sold, in Japan, particularly at the Konbiniensusutoa
(コンビニエンスストア) or Konbini (コンビニ). Special molds in various shapes are
sold to facilitate the making of onigiri and their popularity has grown
globally to the degree that onigiri can be purchased from around the Pacific
rim, North America, and in Europe.
