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Miso Beef Onigiri

June 21, 2017 By Lokness 12 Comments

Miso Beef Onigiri (rice ball). This recipe is inspired by the new Zelda game. Thinly sliced beef cooked with miso, ginger and garlic, then stuffed inside rice balls. Satisfying quick bite for lunch or picnic. 

Onigiri is Japanese rice ball. It is a ball of steamed rice formed into a triangle shape, stuffed with filling and wrapped with a nori (seaweed). It is very popular in Japan as snack, quick bite or lunch. You can easily find it in convenience store or supermarket.

While visiting Kyoto last February, we had our first onigiri from a famous rice restaurant. It was a chilly winter day and we just finished exploring a temple. We were cold and hungry. When we walked by the rice restaurant, we saw a bunch of people eating onigiri at the front door. We couldn’t resist. Bryan ran inside the store and got one. The onigiri was still warm and it was filled with salted salmon. It was absolutely delicious. If we didn’t have any lunch plan, we probably would have eaten a few more.

Source: Zelda.com

Since coming back home, I have pretty much forgotten about the onigiri. Until recently, Bryan has been playing a new game on his Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s a really fun game, either to play or watch. Other than monster fighting, treasure hunting and puzzle solving, this Zelda game also has a cooking part. You collect ingredients like meat, herbs, vegetables along the way, and cook them to create all kind of dishes. Different dishes have different effects that can restore health or energy. It’s surprising how many dishes you can make, like skewer, omelet, curry, crepe, cake, and pie. Rice balls are on the menu too! And that is what inspired me to make this miso beef onigiri.

Scenes from game: Link is making onigiri by throwing rice and meat in the huge pot.
Scene from game: Meaty Rice Balls is now finished!

Miso beef is definitely not a traditional filling for onigiri. Thinly sliced beef was marinated with miso, garlic, ginger and mirin. Then, quickly stir fry in a skillet until cooked through. Stuff them into warm rice and shape into triangles. Wrap the rice balls with a piece of seaweed and sprinkle with some furikake (rice seasoning). Nom! Savory, and umami! Very satisfying! My health has now been restored!  ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Print Pin
4 from 3 votes

Miso Beef Onigiri

Course Lunch, Quick Bite, Snack
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword beef, japanese, lunch, miso, nori, onigiri, rice
Servings 4 Onigiri
Author Lokness

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short grain rice
  • 1 garlic clove (minced)
  • ½ teaspoon ginger (grated)
  • 1 tablespoon white miso (shiro miso)
  • 1½ teaspoons water
  • 1 teaspoon mirin
  • 5 ounces thinly sliced beef
  • ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • salt
  • 2 sheets nori (sushi seaweed)
  • Furikake (dried rice seasoning)

Instructions

  • Cook the rice in the rice cooker. Mix and cool for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine garlic, ginger, miso, water and mirin.
  • Cut the beef into 2-inch strips. Transfer to the miso mixture. Season with black pepper. Mix well.
  • In a large pan over high heat, warm ½ tablespoon vegetable oil. Add the beef and cook until cook through. Taste and adjust with salt and sugar. Transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Prepare a small bowl of water (drinkable). Wet both of your hands with the water. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on one palm. Rub both hands together. Take ½ cup of warm rice and slightly pat down onto one hand. Make a dent in the middle. Add about 1 tablespoon of beef. Carefully cover up the beef with the rice around the edges and roll the whole thing into a ball. Use both of your palms to gently pressure the rice ball into a triangle shape. Repeat with the rest of the rice.
  • When ready to serve, wrap each rice ball with a piece of seaweed and sprinkle with furikake. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Notes

  1. I used white miso, because I have leftover at home. You can also use red miso or a mixture of both. But red miso tends to be saltier, you may have to use less when cooking.
  2. Thinly sliced beef can be bought in Asian supermarkets, like Mitsuwa, 99 Ranch and H-mart.
  3. If you can’t find thinly sliced beef, you can use ground beef as well.
  4. The beef should taste saltier and stronger than normal, because they are used as filling.
  5. Do not wrap onigiri with nori (seaweed) until ready to serve. Seaweed gets soggy real quick.
  6. Furikake is a dried seasoning for rice. It adds extra flavors to the onigiri. They come in many flavors, like salmon, seaweed, shrimp, bonito. The classic is the seaweed, which is what I used in this recipe. It is best with the miso beef. You can find Furikake in most Asian supermarkets or from Amazon.

Filed Under: Beef, Cook, Rice Tagged With: Beef, japanese, lunch, miso, onigiri, quick bite, rice ball, The Legend of Zelda, zelda

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction says

    June 25, 2017 at 6:48 am

    5 stars
    I love how Zelda inspired you to make these rice balls! These look absolutely delicious! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lokness says

      June 29, 2017 at 12:03 pm

      Thanks so much Marsha! These make the perfect picnic food! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Shannon @loveatfirstbento says

    October 19, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    What a fantastic onigiri filling idea! I’m a vegetarian, but my I know my bf would LOVE this filling – he’s always bugging me to make more “carnivore” onigiri for him 😉 And the fact that this was inspired by Zelda is so beyond awesome 😀 😀

    I was just going to say I’m definitely pinning this, but looks like I already have – will bookmark and try out for sure.

    Reply
    • Lokness says

      November 3, 2017 at 9:47 am

      Thank you so much Shannon! It’s great to hear someone appreciates the Zelda inspiration! ? Not everyone knows who and what that is! My husband and I are both meat eaters and we really liked these. Hope you bf will do too! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Pontus Karlsson says

    March 1, 2018 at 2:37 pm

    4 stars
    Looks fantastic!
    Is there any chance I could make em the day before and use them as a lunchbox? or do they need to be served immediately?

    Reply
    • Lokness says

      March 1, 2018 at 3:36 pm

      If you don’t mind eating cold beef, you can absolutely make them ahead! 😉 Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. JoJo says

    November 12, 2019 at 12:11 am

    3 stars
    Good recipe they are definitely best when still warm unlike most onigiri which you can make in advance without compromising taste. Also (just a side note) umami actually means savory “Savory, and umami!” maybe savory and amai (sweet in Japanese) either way good recipe

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Miso Beef Onigiri - Yum Goggle says:
    June 22, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    […] GET THE RECIPE […]

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  2. Yakisoba with Pork Belly | The Missing Lokness says:
    September 7, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    […] love Japanese food! And you probably know it too from all my Japanese recipes (like miso beef onigiri, Japanese egg salad sandwiches, and shabu shabu)! You may think wonder I am obsessed with Japanese […]

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  3. 17 Must Try Onigiri Recipes + #OnigiriAction - Love At First Bento says:
    October 28, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    […] Miso Beef Onigiri – from The Missing Lokness […]

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  4. 20 Delicious Miso Recipes You'll Love  - The Instant Pot Table says:
    July 6, 2022 at 8:45 am

    […] Miso Beef Onigiri is a classic Japanese-inspired recipe that is perfect for a quick and easy lunch. […]

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  5. Yuzu Salmon Onigiri - The Missing Lokness says:
    July 20, 2023 at 12:25 pm

    […] food is onigiri. Meaty ones, seafood ones, veggie ones & monster ones. Many years ago, I made Miso Beef Onigiri based on the meaty rice […]

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