Onigiri

Ingredients

• 10 1/2 ozjapanese short-grain rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
• 7 ozsalted salmon, skin on
• 3nori sheets, cut into wide bands
• 1 tbsptoasted sesame seeds
• 1 tspsea salt

Method

1. 1

   Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then cook it with its own volume of water plus a little more — covered, undisturbed, and left to steam off the heat for ten minutes at the end.

2. 2

   Grill the salted salmon until the skin is crisp and the flesh flakes, then flake it into a bowl, discarding the skin and any bones.

3. 3

   Fold the sesame seeds through the hot rice with a cutting motion rather than a stirring one, so the grains stay whole. Let it cool until you can just handle it.

4. 4

   Wet your hands and rub a pinch of salt between your palms. Take a handful of rice, press a hollow into it, add a little salmon, close the rice over and cup it into a triangle with three or four firm turns.

5. 5

   Press a band of nori around the base of each one just before eating, so it is still crisp when it reaches you.