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Yaki Onigiri is a bangin’ simple-to-make Japanese snack that's both naturally vegan and super-easily customizable. With just a few easy-to-find ingredients, these bad boys can be on your table in under an hour (don’t stress, very little of that is active prep time). This well-tested recipe is about to be your family’s new fave treat or car snack for road trips.
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If you’ve already nailed the forming process I teach in my regular onigiri recipe, this glazed and grilled version is gonna be mad easy for ya. Plus, these make a bangin’ rice dish to serve with wakame salad or sunomono to turn them into a complete, healthy little meal.
Ready to master this Japanese street food classic? Let's get you rocking out some yaki onigiri like a gosh darned pro already!
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🥰 Why you’ll adore this yaki onigiri recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan Japanese recipes, this one is free of all animal-based ingredients and also cholesterol-free. No bonito flakes, salmon, tuna, or eggs are up in this banger. Plus, made with tamari, it’s one of the kinda accidentally gluten-free vegan recipes that no one will call you weird for loving.
🍚 Perfect Rice Every Time: Using premium quality Japanese short-grain rice that’s been rinsed-the-actual-heck-out-of makes sure your onigiri will hold its shape beautifully without falling apart. Don’t worry, m’dear love, I’ve included my top recommendations for rice brands that will give you the best results.
🛒 Pantry-Friendly Ingredients: Got a nicely stocked Japanese pantry? You probably will not need to run out for anything to get these made. Otherwise, I’ve also included links for you to order any ingredients and equipment needed to make ‘em.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of the vegan recipes I publish here, after carefully crafting and tweaking, I shared this Japanese grilled rice ball recipe with a fantastic group of hundreds of recipe testers worldwide who confirmed it’s easy to follow and consistently delivers delicious results every time.
🍙 Yaki Onigiri Ingredients
The Best Rice for Making Yaki Onigiri
affiliate linkTamanishiki Super Premium Short Grain Rice, a California-grown blend of Koshihikari and Yumegokochi, delivers a pretty unbeatable texture and flavor. For solid alternatives, try Koshihikari varieties like Tamaki Gold or Shirakiku. If you want to use a certified organic rice, Lundberg Family Farms Short-Grain Japanese Rice is a great option.
Cheaper Rice Brands for Yaki Onigiri
Budget-friendly sushi rice brands like Nishiki, Botan Calrose, or Kokuho Rose are widely available at Asian grocery stores in the U.S. While they work for dishes like my vegan sushi bake, they require more rinsing to remove excess starch. So, they can still work for sure, but def aren’t my fave.
Mirin
Mirin (みりん) is a sweet rice wine often used in Japanese cooking in everything from vegan tofu katsu to somen salad.
If you can’t get mirin, you can use a sweet sake or replace it with equal parts rice vinegar and agave nectar.
Potato Starch
This light coating helps create a crispy exterior on the onigiri when grilled. It’s a key to the texture of a lot of Japanese things that are crispy on the outside (think: tofu karaage). Cornstarch, tapioca starch, or arrowroot can all be used as alternatives, though make sure the onigiri aren’t touching in the pan as they cook, or they will have more of a tendency to stick to each other with those.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Miso-Glazed Yaki Onigiri
A very common way to make yaki onigiri is by brushing them with a miso glaze before grilling. I like to mix white miso with a small amount of water and sweetener for doing this, kind of similar to the glaze I use for making miso-glazed eggplant (nasu dengaku).
Korean BBQ Yaki Onigiri
When forming, fill your onigiri with a mix of minced vegan bulgogi and vegan kimchi. Brush with Korean BBQ sauce before grilling and serve with Korean cucumber salad. Whether you are vegan or not, I promise you will think these seriously slap!
📖 How to make yaki onigiri
Nail this traditional Japanese snack on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Rice, Rice, Baby
Wash rice under cold water in a colander, gently swirling it with your hands, until the water runs clear.
✅ Removing as much external starch as possible helps the grains cook evenly, with some individuality, which is important for the fluffiness on the inside of the onigiri, which contrasts its crisp outside.
Step Two
Cooking the rice in a rice cooker:
For a rice cooker, combine 2 cups of rice with 2 ¼ cups (540 ml) of water and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Cooking the rice on the stovetop:
For stovetop cooking, bring 2 cups of rice and 2 ½ cups (590 ml) of water to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low heat, cover tightly, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the rice steam, covered, for another 10 minutes.
Step Three
Condoleezza Rice:
Transfer the warm, cooked rice to a large bowl or hangiri, and let it cool about 10-15 minutes until comfortable to handle.
✅ Don’t skip this cooling. It’s kinda essential for making sure your rice shapes properly, without smashing the grains, or burning your poor little hands. You don’t want to end up looking like some kind of culinary Freddy Krueger, right?
Step Four
Season of the Witch:
In a small bowl, mix together tamari, mirin, sugar, and sesame oil. Gently (that’s really the key!) fold the seasoning into the rice, stirring slowly without pressure, to avoid smashing the grains, just until evenly distributed.
Step Five
Hand Shaping the Onigiri
Keep a bowl of water and a bowl with kosher salt on your work surface. Lightly dampen your hands with warm water and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Take about ¼ to ⅓ cup of sticky rice and gently form it into a triangle by pressing with one flat palm on the bottom and applying inward, downward pressure from your other hand. It takes practice, but you’ll get quicker and neater at nailing the classic triangle shape with time.
✅ For fillings, hold the partially shaped rice in your palm, press an indentation, add umeboshi or any other filling you like, cover with more rice, and gently press again.
Step Six
Forming with an Onigiri Mold:
Fill the mold with rice, add a filling if using, and press gently with even pressure to avoid smushing the slightly fragile, fluffy rice.
Step Seven
Dust & Crust:
Lightly coat both sides of each onigiri with potato starch to ensure they crisp up beautifully during grilling. Shake off any excess starch for an even crust.
Step Eight
Glazed and Confused:
In a small bowl, stir together tamari and mirin for the glaze.
Step Nine
Sizzle Me Timbers:
Heat sesame oil in a non-stick or cast-iron frying pan over medium heat. Add the onigiri and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side over medium heat until golden brown and crisp.
Step Ten
Terminator 2: Judgment Glaze
Brush both sides of the onigiri with the soy sauce glaze and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until the glaze caramelizes and the rice develops a deeper golden color.
Rice, Set, Match
Serve the yaki onigiri warm, optionally garnished with sesame seeds, furikake, or shichimi togarashi, perhaps with some pickled vegetables on the side.
Maaaaaybe you even want to drizzle some teriyaki sauce on 'em?
💡Serving Ideas
While traditionally a takeaway food for soldiers, and these days, a popular snack in Japanese convenience stores, yaki onigiri also makes a kinda refined feeling addition to your table.
Pair it with other Japanese street food classics like vegan yakitori. A little yamagobo (pickled burdock root) on the side is a pretty classic chaser.
These make a great vegetarian side to go with Japanese noodle dishes my vegan yakisoba.
👉Top tips
- Rice, Rice Baby: Use Japanese or California short-grain rice for the best stickiness and flavor. Tamanishiki is worth the splurge for perfectly formed onigiri.
- Sticky Fingers, Hands Off: Dampen your hands with water and a pinch of salt to prevent sticking and lightly season the rice as you shape it.
- Under Pressure: Because yaki onigiri has stuff in it other than rice, the mixture doesn’t bind as easily as regular onigiri. So use a little more inward pressure when forming them so that they don’t fall apart as easily when cooking.
- Preheat and Oil the Pan: Ensure your skillet is adequately preheated over medium heat and just very lightly oiled before adding the onigiri. This step promotes even browning and prevents sticking, resulting in a crisp, golden crust.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
You really have to use a premium quality japonica white rice for its stickiness and flavor. Basmati, jasmine rice, and regular long-grain rice will not have the same texture as Japanese short-grain rice and will 200% fall apart and make you cry.
Ensure your grill or pan is preheated and just very lightly oiled before adding the onigiri. This helps create a non-stick surface and promotes even browning.
I have tried out using parchment paper between the onigiri and the pan, as some yaki onigiri recipes recommend, but I am not really a fan of that. Sometimes the glaze makes the paper stick to the onigiri once the glaze has been added, and that sucks!
Yaki onigiri is best enjoyed warm, right after grilling, when the exterior is crispy and the interior is soft. However, they can also be enjoyed at room temperature, making them a convenient option for bento boxes.
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Yaki Onigiri (Crispy Japanese Grilled Rice Balls)
Ingredients
If cooking in a rice cooker:
- 2 cups Japanese short-grain rice uncooked
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons water
If cooking on the stovetop:
- 2 cups Japanese short-grain rice uncooked
- 2 ½ cups water
Rice Seasonings:
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 4 teaspoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar or coconut sugar
- 4 teaspoons sesame oil
Optional Sour Plum Filling
- 12 umeboshi plums pitted
To Cook and Glaze:
- 5 teaspoons potato starch
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Rinse the rice thoroughly under cold water until the water runs clear.
- If using a rice cooker, combine the rice and water in the rice cooker and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions. For stovetop cooking, combine the rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low heat, cover tightly, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, to steam for an additional 10 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked rice to a large bowl or hangiri and allow it to cool slightly until it is warm but comfortable to handle.
- Mix the tamari, mirin, sugar, and sesame oil into the rice, stirring gently to avoid smashing and smushing the grains.
- To shape the onigiri by hand, lightly dampen your hands with water and sprinkle a small amount of salt onto your palms to prevent sticking. Take a handful of seasoned rice and gently press it into a triangular shape, tucking 1 umeboshi plum into the center, if desired. Repeat with the remaining rice. If using an onigiri press, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, ensuring the rice is packed evenly and firmly, without using so much pressure that the rice grains get smushed.
- Lightly dust the formed onigiri with potato starch on both sides.
- Stir together the tamari, and mirin in a small bowl. Heat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
- Lightly oil the skillet with sesame oil and place the onigiri in the pan. Cook until the surface is lightly crisp and golden, then brush the glaze evenly over both sides of the onigiri. Continue to cook, flipping occasionally, until the glaze caramelizes and the onigiri develops a deeper golden color.
- Serve warm, optionally garnished with sesame seeds or alongside pickled vegetables.
Notes
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Paige Davis says
I’ve been trying some of Adam‘s Japanese recipes lately, and I thought that this would be a good side with the yakisoba noodles because of the crunchy texture. The seasonings were perfect, and although my shaping was not, we really enjoyed the flavors. For me, the umeboshi plums are mandatory in these! They add so much. It’s fun to try a few things that are outside of my comfort zone, and I will keep practicing on my shaping and definitely keep making this recipe.
hg says
Fun to make, and it was a great side dish for the Miso Glazed Eggplant. I think kids would have a fun time shaping them too ( my kids are in there twenties and don't live at home, so it was all me).
Kimbi Walton says
The flavor was so delectable, my daughter put her frozen yogurt back in the freezer to polish these off!