Onigiri

One of my favorite snacks when I lived in Japan was called "onigiri." It is rice stuffed with tuna and wrapped in seaweed. Recently, I went to an Asian market and I got some seaweed, thinking that it wouldn't be too hard to make onigiri at home.



There was no way that I was going to be able to make a nice neat little triangle out of my rice, so instead I used a handy little tool from the Pampered Chef. It worked wonderfully, and I avoided the frustrating fiasco of having to deal with shaping the rice with my hands. I know from experience that the grains of rice go everywhere and stick to everything.... except what you want them to! I knew that if I tried shaping the rice with my hands, I'd be finding rice stuck to the cabinets, the bottom of my socks, and probably the couch in the living room...! Though my onigiri was shaped in cylinders rather than triangles, they tasted just as I remembered from my days in Japan... YUM!!

(**note the cluster of rice stuck to the edge of the plate... where it doesn't belong. A perfect example of why I didn't attempt this project by hand)

By the way, I know I'm somewhat odd for liking the taste of seaweed. Aaron can't stand the stuff! ... As gross as you may think it sounds, it's an acquired taste, and it's really healthy!