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–+ servings
3 Miso onigiri rice balls topped with a small blob of miso filling lined up on a wooden chopping board on gray surface

Garlic Miso Onigiri (Rice Balls with Sweet Miso Filling)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Heat a small pan over medium/medium-low and pour in 1 tbsp sesame oil. Add 1 tbsp Japanese leek (naganegi) and 3 cloves garlic (finely diced) and fry until fragrant. Be careful not to let them burn.
    frying finely chopped Japanese leeks in a frying pan with wooden spatula on the stove
  • Add 1 tbsp sake and 1 tbsp mirin to the pan and mix well. Let it bubble for 1 minute.
    sautéed finely diced Japanese leeks in a frying pan with condiments to make miso onigiri filling
  • Add ¼ tsp cayenne pepper and 2 tbsp yellow miso paste (awase) while mixing continuously. Once thickened, remove from the heat.
    Miso onigiri filling in a frying pan with wooden spatula on the stove
  • Divide 440 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice into equal portions of approximately 110g per rice ball. Sprinkle a rice ball mold with a few pinches of salt and then add half of a portion of rice, Press a dent into the middle and add about 1/2 tbsp of the miso mixture.
    Rice with miso filling in an onigiri rice ball mold
  • Add the other half of the rice, sprinkle the top with a pinch of salt and press the lid down to finish shaping. Alternatively, shape by hand making sure to wet your hands before handling the rice to prevent sticking and sprinkle your palms with salt to season the outside. (See in post for more detailed instructions on hand-shaping.)
    Using a plastic rice ball mold to make onigiri with miso filling
  • Wrap with nori and enjoy!
    Holding an miso onigiri rice ball filled with homemade miso filling with wooden chopping board in the background

Notes

A little paste goes a long way: About ½ tbsp per ball seasons all the rice around it. Add more and the salt takes over, and the rice slips into the background.
Keep cooking while the paste is still wet: A loose paste seeps its moisture into the rice once it is tucked inside, and the rice ball turns soggy.
Miso saltiness varies by brand: There is no one right amount. Taste before you cook it down, and if it is already salty, hold back on the miso.
Out of awase miso: Blend white miso and red miso together.
Out of Japanese leek: Use the tender inner part of a regular leek, about 80% of the amount. Thin green onions will not work here.
Use Japanese short-grain rice: Jasmine and other long-grain rice will not stick together, so they never hold the shape of a rice ball. If you cannot find Japanese rice, Korean rice is the closest match.