Go Back
–+ servings
Easy onigiri rice ball recipe stuffed with a delicious mix of canned tuna, mayonnaise and soy sauce.
Print

Tuna Mayo Onigiri

A fluffy Japanese rice ball filled with a savory tuna and mayonnaise filling, Tuna Mayo Onigiri (ツナマヨおにぎり) is a modern staple of Japanese bento lunches. In this recipe, I will show you everything you need to know to make the best tuna mayonnaise rice ball.
Course Entree
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword bento, picnic, rice-ball
Level Beginner
Main Ingredient Fish, Rice
Diet Dairy-Free, Low Sugar, Pescatarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 3 servings
Calories 487kcal
Author Marc Matsumoto

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups Japanese short-grain rice 2 rice cooker cups
  • 1 ⅔ cups cold water
  • 85 grams chunk tuna in oil 1 small US can
  • 3 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise such as Kewpie
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 6 wild sesame leaves green shiso or nori will work too
  • Salt
Grams + US Cups - US Standard

Instructions

  • Wash and cook the rice according to the directions in my sushi rice recipe (but use the proportion of 1 ½ cups Japanese short-grain rice and 1 ⅔ cups cold water in this recipe).
    1 ½ cups Japanese short-grain rice, 1 ⅔ cups cold water
  • While the rice cooks, open the can of 85 grams chunk tuna in oil and drain out any excess liquid. Add the tuna to a bowl along with the 3 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Mix well to form a uniform paste.
    85 grams chunk tuna in oil, 3 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon soy sauce
    Mix the Tuna Mayo filling in a bowl.
  • Prepare a bowl of water and a small bowl of Salt.
    Salt
  • When the rice is cooked, stir it to fluff and then transfer it to a bowl to cool slightly and cover it with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.
  • When the rice is cool enough to handle but still on the hot side, wet your hands in the water bowl. Dab your index finger in the bowl of salt and rub the salt around your hands.
    Wet your hands and then rub some salt between them to season the outside of the onigiri.
  • Working quickly, scoop ⅙ of the rice into your non-dominant hand and make a little well in the center of the rice.
    Poke a well in the middle of the mound of rice to hold the filling.
  • Add about 2 teaspoons of tuna mayo filling into the well and cover the tuna with the surrounding rice.
    Fill the hole with Tuna Mayo filling.
  • Cup the hand holding the rice like a taco and then use 2-3 fingers of your opposite hand to shape the rice into a triangle.
    Shape the rice ball with your hands.
  • Toss the rice ball onto another side and then repeat the cupping and shaping step. Repeat until the onigiri is the desired shape.
    Toss the ball to roll it onto another side and continue shaping it until it's a perfect triangle.
  • Wrap the Tuna Mayo Onigiri with 6 wild sesame leaves, and repeat steps 5-10 until you run out of rice.
    6 wild sesame leaves
    Wrap the onigiri with a perilla leaf.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 324mg | Potassium: 201mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg