Miso Walnut Rice Balls

Miso Walnut Riceballs

I love picnics. Growing up, one of my favorite meals my grandma made for me was little rice balls with a walnut filling in the middle. She would wrap them individually as a snack when we would go for our routine morning walks during the spring.

I forgot about them until I watched the Japanese movie: Little Forest: Summer / Autumn (great movie btw for anyone who wants peaceful Japanese food movies). The main girl packs little walnut onigiris in the film, inspiring me to create this recipe.

Ingredients

3 cups room temperature cooked short grain rice (aka sushi rice)

(Look below how to make perfect pot rice!)

1 cup walnuts

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce (can be substituted with light soy)

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tbsp honey 

1 tsp sesame oil 

1 tbsp butter

Directions

Pulverize the walnuts in a food processor or using a rolling pin.

On medium heat, add the walnuts to a small skillet.

Toast the walnuts on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown, and you can smell a nutty aroma.

Then, add the soy sauce, miso paste, honey, and sesame oil.

Cook out the mixture until it’s thickened into a paste-like texture.

Transfer the paste into the cooked rice.

Mix to combine.

Dip your hands in water.

Scoop 1 cup of rice and form into a ball or to your desired shape.

Let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

For ovens, bake for 20 minutes on each side, for a total of 40 minutes. To make the riceballs crispier top, broil them for 30 seconds on each side for the extra crunch.
For air fryers, bake for 20 minutes at 400F. For an even crispier finish, crank the heat to the maximum with an extra brushing of oil.
For pan-frying, heat the skillet on medium-high.
Once the pan warms up, add the butter.
Once the butter has melted, add your rice balls gently into the pan.
Sear on both sides for 2-3 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
Enjoy!

Tips

• Ground walnuts almost have a ground meat like texture 
• The rice has to be room temperature because if it’s too hot it’ll fall apart! The steam within the rice will make the rice ball not stick and crumble. If you are making fresh hot rice, spread the rice on a baking sheet until there is no visible steam rising. 
• Pan fry the lotus that's already been par-boiled! Dust with a little AP flour and pan fry.

The Perfect Pot Rice

Ingredients

2 cups short grain rice aka sushi rice

2 cups water 

Rinse the rice. Rinse by rubbing the rice granules against the palms. Repeat this process seven times or until the water is no longer opaque and transparent. 

Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. This process allows the rice to plump evenly and to have fool-proof, evenly cooked fluffy rice. 

Drain the soaked rice. It should be plumper and even in size. 

Add the drained, soaked rice to a pot. I recommend using a clay pot or any heavy-duty pot that can retain heat. This helps cook the rice evenly and allows for the fluffiest rice. 

Add the water into the pot. The soaked rice to water should be 1:1.

Heat the pot on high heat with the lid. 

Once you hear a slight simmering and bubbling from the rice, open the lid slightly to take a sneak peek. 

If so, drop the heat to the lowest setting and steam the rice for another 15 minutes. 

Turn the heat off and let the residual heat cook the rice for another 5 minutes. 

Miso Walnut Rice Balls

4 from 73 votes

Recipe by Doobydobap Course: Snack, Lunch, PicnicCuisine: Korean, JapaneseDifficulty: Easy

Yields

4

rice balls

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups room temperature cooked short grain rice (aka sushi rice)

• 1 cup walnuts

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (can be substituted with light soy)

• 1 tbsp miso paste

• 1 tbsp honey

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp butter

instructions

• Pulverize the walnuts in a food processor or using a rolling pin.
• On medium heat, add the walnuts to a small skillet.
• Toast the walnuts on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown, and you can smell a nutty aroma.
• Then, add the soy sauce, miso paste, honey, and sesame oil.
• Cook out the mixture until it’s thickened into a paste-like texture.
• Transfer the paste into the cooked rice.
• Mix to combine.
• Dip your hands in water.
• Scoop 1 cup of rice and form into a ball or to your desired shape.
• Let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• For ovens, bake for 20 minutes on each side, for a total of 40 minutes. To make the riceballs crispier top, broil them for 30 seconds on each side for the extra crunch.
• For air fryers, bake for 20 minutes at 400F. For an even crispier finish, crank the heat to the maximum with an extra brushing of oil.
• For pan-frying, heat the skillet on medium-high.
• Once the pan warms up, add the butter.
• Once the butter has melted, add your rice balls gently into the pan.
• Sear on both sides for 2-3 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
• Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Notes

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