Yaki onigiri are the grilled version of classic Japanese rice balls. Crispy outside and soft inside, they’re the ultimate comfort food, perfect as a snack or lunch box add-on. They’re super easy to make at home with our step-by-step recipe — so let us show you how!
The word yaki (焼き) means “to grill” or “to fry” in Japanese, while onigiri (おにぎり) stands for “pressed rice”.
While basic onigiri are triangular-shaped balls of cooked rice, yaki onigiri undergo a second cooking step: grilling or frying.
Traditionally, yaki onigiri are cooked on a charcoal grill which makes the rice balls smoky and crusty. They’re delightfully charred outside, yet soft and moist inside. A real delight!
But for a simpler recipe, you can just fry the yaki balls in a skillet until the rice is browned and crispy. Cast iron pans will give you the best results, but a good ol’ non-stick pan will also do the job, so no worries!
While classic onigiri are often stuffed with savoury fillings, yaki onigiri are usually plain. This means they’re made without stuffings, just plain cooked rice pressed into a ball.
This way, you can focus on the wonderfully caramelised flavour of fried rice.
But because we love stuffing our Japanese rice balls so much, we made these yaki onigiri with a delicious mushroom teriyaki filling. It’s quick and easy, and your rice balls will be even more flavourful!
Another thing that sets yaki balls apart from traditional onigiri is the coating sauce. While grilling, yaki onigiri are usually brushed with soy sauce for extra flavour.
Besides soy sauce, other yaki onigiri sauces include miso paste, sweet miso sauce, or a combo of miso/soy sauce and melted butter. You can give them a go if you like!
In this recipe, we used gluten-free sauce and no butter to keep the yaki onigiri both vegan and gluten-free. Also, while some recipes fry the onigiri in butter, we opted for vegetable oil.
In the steps below, we’ll show you how to cook the sushi rice from scratch, shape it into onigiri balls, and cook them until perfectly crispy.
We’ll also share extra tips and tricks on how to prevent the yaki balls from falling apart while frying.
These crispy rice balls are best while piping hot, but you can also have them cold. They’re perfect as a savoury snack at home or on the go.
Yaki onigiri are also a great alternative to a bowl of rice for lunch or dinner, paired with this vegan homemade miso soup or silky Japanese corn soup.
And you can also use them as a base for Japanese ochazuke, following our tips below!