“Onigirazu”, which can be a bit hard to pronounce, is basically a rice sandwich. Unlike sushi that requires some special ingredients and a bit of skill and preparation, Onigirazu can be made very easily and uses ingredients you probably already have at home (except perhaps the seaweed).
Sushi (and Japanese food in general) is delicious and a much healthier alternative to other fast food meal options. But when you’re in the food court and you’re trying to decide between one small $3 sushi roll and a $5 hamburger meal combo, it can be very tempting to ignore the health factors and go for that burger. So preparing your own lunch at home is a great idea but making sushi at home isn’t that simple, so an easier, quicker, and just as delicious lunch alternative that will save you money is Onigirazu.
“Onigirazu” means “no squeezing” or “no shaping” (there’s no real exact translation in English). There is a similar food in Japan called “Onigiri”, which requires the rice to be shaped and squeezed into a triangle; however, this is not required when making “Onigirazu”, hence the “razu”, meaning without or none.
Onigirazu basically requires 4 simple steps:
- cook rice
- cook ingredients
- place rice and ingredients on seawed
- fold and seal
This quick and simple recipe is perfect for me right now since I have gone back to work and need lunch that can be made quickly. It’s also a great meal to eat on the move since I barely have time to sit down and eat while I’m at work.
Onigirazu is also a very versatile dish. You can add any fillings you like, such as teriyaki chicken, ham, tuna, or salmon. For this recipe I decided to use bacon, lettuce, and egg (or “Tamago” in Japanese) to make it a BLT rice sandwich.
If you liked my recipe for BLT Rice Sandwich, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!
Also check another filling option “Miso Katsu Onigirazu”
BLT Onigirazu
Ingredients
- 2 rice bowls cooked rice
- 2 sheets Nori seaweed sheets
- 2 slices rindless short cut bacon
- 2 eggs fried into a flat sheet and cut to size
- 2 leaves lettuce
Instructions
- Cook the rice and the other ingredients and set aside
- Toast the seaweed very lightly (be careful not to burn it) and place it on a sheet of cling wrap.
- Evenly, and thinly spread half a bowl of cooked rice on top of the seaweed
- Place the cooked egg on top of the rice.
- Then place the cooked bacon on top.
- Place the pieces of lettuce on top.
- Place the rest of the rice on top of the other ingredients.
- Fold two sides of the seaweed to the centre.
- Fold the remaining two sides to close the sandwich
- Wrap the sandwich with the cling wrap
- Leave it for while to make the seaweed sheets settle
- Cut the rice sandwich in half and serve
Arigatougozaimasu Shihoko-san! Another successful recipe.
I didn’t have the mold for it but I was able to use the empty tofu container. It came out great. I substituted the Bacon with Tofu because I’m vegetarian and I used seasoned sushi rice! Hubby approved!
Thank you Katherine san 😀 I am glad that your hubby approved this too!
I was wondering, where did you get that mold for the onigirazu?
Hi Christopher, I bought it in Japan when I went back to Japan while ago. I will find it in Amazon and add it to my Amazon shop front.
Hi, I want to make this to take with me for lunches while on the go, does it have to be cut in half or can i keep it whole and eat it by biting in it as a big square ball ? hehe
Hi, Lana. It is great to take for lunch on the go. You can take it as a whole without cutting. It is same thing after all 😀
Hello! I know you posted the link to the storage container for the sandwich but do you have a site to the mold you put the food in before lifting it up?
It looks different from other molds because it looks like you can really pack the food in there.
Sorry Olivia. I don’t quite understand your question. I never posted a link to the storage container for the sandwich. As you can see in the process shots, that is the mold you talking about? that you can stack ingredients? What do you mean by look different from other molds? What other molds?
Is this the mold you are after? This is exactly same one that I use.
is this any help?Hi, do these keep well for school lunch and safe? Thanks
Hi H Lam, yes I often take this for lunch in insulated lunch bag.
Where did you get the nice mold?
Hi Wassim, I got it in Japan when I went back there. You can try online
Onigirazu mold
I’m gonna try this! Thank you for your sharing, it’s simple & awesome recipe 😃
Thank you Venice 😀
You are right about Sushi, it is healthy and easier to prepare. The recipe is amazing and I am following
your blog from now on to learn more about healthy recipes.
Thank you Austin 😀
Shihoka-San:
Thank You for the recipe. I’ve had Nigirirazu many times but not with your ingredients.
I’m anxious to try it soon.
FYI:
In the U.S. “BLT” stands for Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato so I had expected tomato as one of the ingredients.
But… I can see that “tomato” might have too much moisture for nigirirazu, unless you eat it immediately.
Hi Doug san. Yes, BLT’s T supposed to be tomato but because this is Japanese 🤣 I put Tamago which is egg 🤣. Unless you take seeds out, as you mentioned, tomato is too moist for onigirazu and you might end up with soggy one 😭
Have you considered making the Onigirazu with Sushi seasoned rice? Is the form you used available on line?
Hi Paul, Onigirazu is all about your creativity. So if you would like to make the rice seasoned, you can seasoned like sushi 😀 It is available from Amazon.co.jp here
Onigirazu Cube Box
but I am not sure if they ship overseas.wonderful sandwich i love it is great good work!!
Thank you very much! 🙂
amazing and wonderful rice sandwich ! love it !
thank you!
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Thank you. How your Onigirazu turned out?
Hi! What kind of rice do you use for this? Sushi rice or jasmine rice or something else? Really want to try and make these!
Hi Mathilde, glutinous short grain rice. In Japan we use Koshihikari but everywhere else, sushi rice may be the closest what we use for onigirazu. It needs to be sticky otherwise it will be very crumbly.