Meat Wrapped Onigiri (Nikumaki Onigiri)

Meat Wrapped Onigiri (肉巻きおにぎり)

Nikumaki Onigiri (肉巻きおにぎり) means "meat wrapped onigiri" and is said to have started as a staff meal at an izakaya in Miyazaki in the 1990s. Onigiri is usually a bento side, but wrapping sesame‑scented rice in thin beef and finishing it with a glossy teriyaki glaze turns it into a portable main that eats like steak and rice in every bite.

Why This Recipe Works

• Paper thin meat - Using thinly sliced meat to wrap the rice ensures it cooks through all the way while ensuring the exterior doesn't get chewy or tough.
• Mix ins for rice - Ground sesame seeds and shiso mixed into the rice provide a nutty, refreshing flavor and textural contrasts that keep each bite interesting. 
• Teriyaki glaze - Glazing with a 1:1:1 teriyaki (soy sauce, sake, sugar) caramelizes into a glossy sheen that seasons the meat and rice.

Ingredients for Meat Wrapped Onigiri

• Japanese short-grain rice - To get the rice to stick together, it's important to use Japanese short-grain rice. You can learn about the different Japanese rice kinds in my How to Cook Japanese Rice recipe. 
• Thinly sliced beef - The meat wrapped around the rice must be cut into large sheets that are thin enough to cook through quickly and still be tender. I recommend using beef sliced to a thickness of about 1mm. It is nearly impossible to get sheets big enough with a knife (you'll need a frozen block of meat and a meat slicer), so I recommend looking for the beef sliced for hot pot at Asian supermarkets. If you have a Japanese market nearby, look for beef sliced for Sukiyaki. Thinly sliced pork will also work.
• Sesame seeds - While you can make Meat Wrapped Onigiri with plain white rice, I like mixing in some toasted ground sesame seeds. This adds a marvelously nutty flavor to the rice that goes great with the beef. 
• Shiso - Green shiso is a Japanese Perilla cultivar and is often used as a garnish at sushi restaurants. It also happens to be a very flavorful herb that has a marvelously refreshing fragrance that's somewhere between mint and basil. If you can't find it, add other flavorful herbs, such as chopped basil or chives. 
• Teriyaki sauce - To season the rice ball, a generous splash of traditional Japanese Teriyaki Sauce gets added at the end. The savory-sweet mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and sake filters through the beef, picking up its flavor before percolating into the rice.

Substitutions & Variations

• Other meat: Nikumaki onigiri can be wrapped in any very thinly sliced meat. Hot‑pot style pork belly or loin slices will work great. If the meat you use is too narrow, you can stagger the slices to make bigger sheets. 
• No shiso: add your favorite aromatic herbs like basil, green onions, or citrus zest.
• Sauce swap: If teriyaki isn't your thing, you can glaze these with a variety of sauces like tonkatsu sauce, citrusy ponzu, or even barbecue sauce.

How to Make Meat Wrapped Onigiri

The first thing you want to do is cook 1 rice cooker cup of Japanese short-grain rice. If you don't have a rice cooker, you can follow my stovetop rice recipe, but this makes double the amount of rice you need, so you can either make 8 onigiri or save half of the rice for something else. 

Grind the toasted sesame seeds into a coarse meal using a mortar and pestle, spice grinder, blender, or food processor. Add the ground sesame seeds and chopped shiso to a bowl with the hot rice and use a folding and cutting motion to work the ingredients together. Be careful not to smash individual grains of rice. Flatten off the top of the rice and divide it into 4 equal segments. 

Put down a sheet of plastic wrap and then add a quarter of the rice on top. The wrap keeps the rice from sticking to your hands, so use it to shape the onigiri into a thick cylinder. If you don't want to use plastic wrap, you can use your hands, but you'll need to keep your hands wet, so the rice doesn't stick. Repeat with the remaining rice. 

To wrap the onigiri with meat, spread a sheet of beef out on a clean work surface and then unwrap and place a rice ball at the edge of the meat closest to you. Next, roll the beef around the rice. Then you can fold the sides of the meat around the ends of the cylinder to seal the rice in. 

To cook the Nikumaki Onigiri, add the vegetable oil to a frying pan over medium heat and add the meat wrapped rice. Let the onigiri brown on one side before rolling them to one side to brown a new surface. Continue rolling and browning until the onigiri are browned on all sides. To cook both ends of the rolls, you can use tongs to flip them up onto their sides.

Once the meat is browned on all sides, use a paper towel to soak up all of the excess oil in the pan. To glaze the Meat Wrapped Onigiri, add the teriyaki sauce and roll them around until the sauce has thickened and coated the meat in a thick, shiny layer. 

You can serve these immediately, or they can be cooled to room temperature and packed into a bento box lunch along with some colorful vegetables. If meat-wrapped food is to your liking, check out my Beef Negimaki. It's got the same thin sheets of beef, but it's filled with scallions(negi) instead of rice.

Make‑Ahead, Storage & Reheating

• Fridge: cool completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. Reheat in a microwave oven set to 600 watts for a minute or two.
• Freeze: wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Defrost and reheat in a microwave oven set to 600 watts for three to four minutes.
• Bento: Let the onigiri cool to room temperature before packing. Use an ice pack if transporting in warm weather.

Serve this With

Nikumaki Onigiri is a street food staple, making it a popular item at summer festivals or omatsuri. To make a festival-style meal at home, pair these with Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki, crisp candied Daigaku Imo, and soy‑glazed Mitarashi Dango dumplings. For something sweet to finish off your meal, try making fish-shaped Taiyaki, or strawberry-filled mochi. These meat-wrapped onigiri are also perfect for packing into a bento box lunch. Tuck in some smoky Blistered Shishito Peppers, add a cool and creamy side of Japanese Potato Salad, and a slice or two of fluffy Tamagoyaki to add a rainbow of colors to your bento.

📖 Recipe

Meat Wrapped Onigiri

By: Marc Matsumoto

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 7 minutes mins

Total Time 17 minutes mins

Yield 2 servings

Units

Grams + US CupsUS Standard

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 350 grams cooked short-grain rice (1 rice cooker cup)
• 140 grams thinly sliced beef (4 very thin slices)
• 4 grams shiso (cut into thin ribbons)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

Instructions

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• Use a mortar and pestle or a clean spice grinder to grind the sesame seeds coarsely.
  
• Add the ground sesame and shiso to the hot cooked rice and fold everything together until it's evenly combined.
  
• Divide the rice into 4 even segments.
  
• Cut a piece of plastic wrap onto a work surface, and scoop a quarter of the rice onto it.
  
• Use the wrap to shape the rice into a thick cylinder and then roll it up in the wrap. Repeat with the remaining 3 segments of rice.
  
• Spread a sheet of beef out on a cutting board. Unwrap and place an onigiri on the edge of the meat closest to you.
  
• Roll the rice in the beef, and then fold the sides around it to seal it shut.
  
• Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Place the meat wrapped onigiri around the pan and let them brown on one side.
  
• As the onigiri brown, roll them a little to one side to brown a new section. Repeat until the roll is browned on all sides.
• Finish cooking the rolls by turning them on their ends with tongs to cook the sides.
  
• Once the onigiri are browned on all sides, use a paper towel to soak up all of the excess oil. Add the teriyaki sauce and roll the rice balls continuously until the sauce has thickened into a thick glaze and there's almost none remaining in the pan.
  
• Serve the Nikumaki Onigiri hot, or pack them into a bento box and let them cool completely before closing the lid.

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Notes

• Use beef sliced for hot pot (about 1 mm thick) so it cooks through quickly without getting tough.
• Shape rice into firm cylinders so the meat wraps without gaps.
• Classic teriyaki is equal parts soy sauce, sake, and sugar. Reduce until glossy so it clings without pooling.

Nutrition Facts

Calories • 351kcalCarbohydrates • 46gProtein • 16gFat • 11gSaturated Fat • 3gPolyunsaturated Fat • 3gMonounsaturated Fat • 4gTrans Fat • 0.01gCholesterol • 30mgSodium • 1070mgPotassium • 400mgFiber • 4gSugar • 4gVitamin A • 0.4IUCalcium • 67mgIron • 3mg

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