The Manufacturing Of The Best Rice Balls

By Steven Carter


One of the most popular food for the Japanese people is the onigiri. This food is made of rice usually shaped in a triangular or cylinder form and which is also wrapped in nori or seaweeds. Onigiris are typically filled with pickled ume, tarako, kombu, katsuobushi, salted salmon, and other sour or salty ingredients which serve as the natural preservatives.

Nowadays, many stores are already putting up some stocks of different varieties of flavors and of fillings since it became much more popular in many different places. The popularity has grown into many parts in the world, most especially best rice balls in Long Island. Even those small stalls and stores are now offering and selling take out for onigiris.

Misconceptions have came out ever since, comparing an onigiri to sushi, in which people have said that oinigiris are types of sushi. But there is really a big difference between the two since the onigiri is a plain, light salted rice and the sushi is a rice mixed with sugar, vinegar, and salt. Also, the onigiri makes the rice more portable and more easy to eat and the sushi is made to preserve fish.

Since in history, a lot of people also have said that it may be difficult for onigiris to be produced in mass production since the most common technique used is hand rolling, in which is considered as one difficult for a machine to do. But in the later years, there are many manufacturers already who have successfully invented such machines that could shape a rice ball into a triangular form. And in this manufacturing process, fillings are done by placing a hole hidden by the nori instead of rolling it inside.

One disadvantage of using the machine is it makes the nori moist and sticky because it is already wrapped to the onigiri. But there is an improvement being made for the packaging in order to separate it from the rice. So before the person will eat it, he or she will open the nori packet and wrap it around the onigiri.

Making the production of the new flavors much easier is one of the good advantages of machine limitations because of filling it through holes. And another good advantage is the easier production since cooking processes may not include anymore the changing of ingredients over time. Onigiris made in modern times are wrapped in specially made plastics to avoid moisture.

The rice balls typically are made of boiled white rice, but there are also some other variations including kowameshi or okowa. Okowa is type of either cooked or steamed rice which is glutinous and are often cooked in mixture with vegetables like red beans. A mazegohan is another variation. It also called as mixed rice and is mixed and cooked with some preferred ingredients.

People before believed these food is originated in samurai rice balls that are wrapped with the leaves of bamboo. And they also believed that most of Japanese food also is originated in the samurai innovations. But from the historic battlefields, it became available in stores.

Most stores nowadays have been selling onigiris. And one of the popular cities where these are sold is Long Island. Many people also have started on making this dish at their homes. Nikumaki, ikura, mayonnaise and salmon, tsuna mayo, mentaiko, etc., are some of its popular varieties.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment