HOW TO MAKE ★FROZEN ONIGIRI★ Grab and Go! (EP219)
Today I want to share my three frozen ONIGIRI recipes that you can bring to your school or office straight from the freezer as your lunch.
But, can you freeze onigiri?
Yes, you can.
As long as you cooked rice in a certain way which I will show you in this video.
You can make ahead, and you can cut the preparation time in the busy morning.
Why you make “frozen onigiri” ?
Because Onigiri is eaten room temperature, five to six hours after its made, we should be careful how to keep in a good condition.
Or if you bring it with a refrigerant pack, it’s much safer but the texture of the rice is not good.
Thank God we have Umeboshi to keep Onigiri stay safe.
But, not every day. We get bored if we eat over and over.
I thought, what if the Onigiri itself is frozen? And still safe to eat and tastes good at the same time?
Hopefully, by freezing, we would get longer life onigiri and still enjoy the tasty lunch.
And I research how to make it happen, and I did an experiment.
It went successful, and I wanted to share it with you!
Cook the rice with oil is critical.
The oil coat the rice and it doesn’t lose its moisture and keep it in the right texture if you freeze it.
This summer is so hot and it seems never to end.
It’s a good idea to bring frozen Onigiri, so you don’t have to worry about your lunch goes bad.
Can you eat naturally defrosted “normal Onigiri” ?
I don’t think so.
I have tried a normal Onigiri which has been freeze, and then defrost naturally.
That was the most awful texture food I had ever had in my life.
But you can eat it reheat thoroughly in a microwave oven.
Frozen Onigiri~Grab and Go!~
Equipment
- Rice cooker or a pot
- bowl (microwavable)
Ingredients
Cooked rice
- 3 rice-cup cups short grain rice (preferably Japanese) 1 rice-cup=180ml
- 3⅓ rice-cup cups water
〈Cha-Han Onigiri〉makes 3 Onigiri
- 300 g cooked rice （about 2 cups) cup=measuring cup (240ml)
- 1 large egg
- 50 g Cha-Shaw (Chashu)
- 20 g scallion
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1 ts chicken soup powder (Chinese style)
- 1 ts soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
〈Omu-Rice Onigiri〉makes 3 Onigiris
- 300 g cooked rice （about 2 cups) cup=measuring cup (240ml)
- 2 pieces sausages
- 20 g onion
- 10 g carrot
- 1 piece green bell pepper
- 1 ts chicken or beef soup powder
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs ketchup
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large egg (for thin omelet)
- ½ ts potato or corn starch(for thin omelet)
- 1 ts water(for thin omelet)
- a pinch of salt(for thin omelet)
〈Dry Curry Onigiri〉makes 3 Onigiris
- 300 g cooked rice （about 2 cups) cup=measuring cup (240ml)
- 2 slices ham
- 20 g onion
- 10 g carrot
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 ts chicken or beef soup powder
- 1 tbs heaping tablespoon Hellmann's mayo ※any kind of mayo is OK
- 1 ts curry powder
- ½ ts salt
- ⅕ ts black pepper
Instructions
Cook Rice
- Cook rice in a rice cooker or a pot.3 rice-cup cups of rice makes about 1 kg (2.2lb) of cooked rice.
〈Cha-Han Onigiri〉
- Cut scallion into thin slices.Cut Cha-shu into small dice.
- 〈make scrumble egg〉Crack an egg and add a pinch of salt.Grease the inside of the microwave-safe bowl with one tablespoon of sesame oil so that the egg doesn't stick to the side.Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds on 800w ( 600 w for 40~50 seconds) . Take out and give it a stir to break up the egg.Cook 30 seconds more, keep your eyes on the egg to avoid overcooking.It's OK if uncooked egg remains.Take out and break the egg into small pieces.
- Add in diced Cha-Shaw, granulated chicken soup and soy sauce.Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds, to dissolve the soup powder.
- Add in warm cooked rice, and chopped scallion.Mix all together really well.But be careful not to break the grains.Give it a taste and if you happy with it, shape into Onigiri.
〈Omu-Rice Onigiri〉
- Mince onion, carrot and green bell pepper.Chop the sausage into small dice.※You can use bacon or ground meat or anything you have on your hand.
- Put all the ingredients into a microwave-safe bowl, and cook in the microwave for one minute on 800w.Take out and give it a stir. Cook on microwave again for one minute.
- Add in warm cooked rice and mix well.Shape into Onigiri.
- 〈thin omelet to wrap it up〉Crack an egg, add a pinch of salt.Beat well and add potato starch and water solution.Cut into strips and wrap the Onigiri.
〈Dry Curry Onigiri〉
- Mince onion, carrot and green bell pepper.Chop the ham into small dice.
- Add in all the ingredients and cook in the microwave as well as the omurice.Shape into Onigiri.
How to store
- Shape into Onigiris and wrap nice and tight.Freeze and pack in a ziplock bag.Keep well up to 3 months.