Pork-Wrapped Rice Balls (Nikumaki Onigiri)

Name: Pork-Wrapped Rice Balls (Nikumaki Onigiri)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 300 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice (50g / ⅓ cup per rice ball); 9 slices thinly sliced pork belly ((approx 12 inches/30cm) 1 ½ slices per rice ball); 1 tbsp cornstarch; ½ tbsp cooking oil; 3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu); 3 tbsp sake; 2 tbsp mirin; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp grated ginger root (or ginger paste); 1 tsp grated garlic (or garlic paste); 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds ((optional)); 6 perilla leaves (shiso) (optional)

Instructions

Prep:10minCook:10min

Simple Japanese rice balls wrapped in tender and crispy pork belly coated in a teriyaki-style glaze. This is an addictive onigiri recipe like no other!

Updated at: Tue, 11 Nov 2025 08:32:42 GMT