Tofu Veggie Onigirazu

Tofu Veggie Onigirazu made with pan fried tofu, thin sliced cucumber, shredded carrots and spicy mayo. So easy to make and delicious!

“Onigirazu (おにぎらず) is a Japanese rice ball that locals make without gripping the whole rice ball hardly. It is similar to Onigiri, where they wrapped the rice in a grilled seaweed, but it has plenty of ingredients inside. Additionally, Onigirazu is a creative take on the traditional rice ball, a standard snack, lunch, or picnic item. For Onigiri to turn into Onigirazu, locals layered a square of seafood with warm rice and onigirazu fillings. Such as ham, cheese with egg, tuna salad, fried chicken, or some left-over stir-fry.

Ketchup and mayonnaise are common condiments used as spreads; they also use lettuce to form boundaries in the layers. Subsequently, you can layer salmon with chive cream cheese and arugula, chicken nuggets with lettuce and ketchup, roast chicken with tomato, and baby lettuces. There are many onigirazu ideas for its fillings, and you can make one for yourself too.” Source: Food in Japan.

Tofu Veggie Onigirazu

I love that onigirazu can be filled with whatever you like. Today, I pan fried some tofu, made spicy mayo and added some raw veggies for crunch and texture. Next time, I might try adding red bell peppers. I definitely am going to try one with spam and egg. Hope you give this recipe a try!

Print Recipe

Tofu Veggie Onigirazu

Makes for a great, delicious lunch! If you plan on packing this for lunch, see my note below on the wrapping. I do recommend making them the morning of. If wanting to make them the night before, here is Nami's (from Just One Cookbook) advice:

"If you plan to make it ahead of time, wrap the onigirazu with a thick kitchen towel and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. The towel will prevent the rice from getting hard and dry from cold air (but it's impossible to keep it moist/fluffy). I strongly recommend making onigirazu on the same day you enjoy it." I 100% agree with Nami.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Lunch or snack

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: Onigirazu, Tofu Veggie Onigirazu

Servings: 2

Equipment

• plastic wrap

Ingredients

• 2 sheets nori
• kosher salt
• 2 cups cooked Japanese short-grain rice* freshly made and cooled
• 2 tablespoons kewpie mayo
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sriracha
• furikake
• 4 slices pan fried tofu
• cucumber thinly sliced and pressed with paper towels
• carrots shredded

Instructions

• Place some plastic wrap on a flat surface (using a cutting board works well) and place a sheet of nori on top (shiny side facing down), with a corner pointing up. Sprinkle some kosher salt in the center of your nori. This is optional but gives the Onigirazu more flavor and helps to keep the rice fresher for longer.
• Evenly spread the cooked, cooled rice in a thin layer on top of the salt and form into a square shape in the center of nori sheet. In a small bowl, mix together the kewpie mayo and the sriracha. This will create the spicy mayo. Place some on top of the rice and top with some furikake.
• Layer two pieces of pan fried tofu (next to each other) on top of the rice and top with some thinly sliced cucumber and some carrots. Top with more rice and repeat the spicy mayo and furikake.
• To fold and close: Bring the left and right corners of the nori sheet towards the center. Fold gently but tightly to wrap around the layers at the center. Then bring bottom and top corners towards the center, tucking in the sides like you are wrapping a present. Once you have it wrapped, flip the onigirazu over (loose ends down) and wrap tightly with the plastic wrap.
• Let sit for 5 minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice the onigirazu in half. If packing these for a lunch, I slice them in half and then wrap the onigirazu again in plastic wrap to keep them fresh. Enjoy!

Notes

*cooked Japanese short-grain rice. Although, Nishiki says it's medium grain, I like using this brand. Kokuho Rose Sushi Rice is also another good brand.