These Chia Seed Onigiri are Japanese filled rice balls packed with the nutritional power of chia seeds! Link up your own chia seed recipes with The Chia Seed Challenge and find this week’s Meal Plan Monday below the recipe.
Today’s recipe is brought to you by The Chia Seed Challenge! If you were around for The Blood Orange Challenge last month, you’ll remember that I teamed up with my friend Jenna over at A Savory Feast to each create a recipe with blood oranges. We had so much fun, we decided to make a monthly recipe challenge! We also brought on a third host for the challenge, Haylea from Bowl of Happiness. Want to join in too? There’s a link up at the very bottom of this post where you can share your recipes too! For next month’s challenge (May 18) we will be tackling popsicles, so start planning your recipes now and come link up with us.
So, when I heard that we would be using chia seeds this month I immediately knew I wanted to stay away from pudding and smoothies. These are GREAT uses for chia seeds, but I feel like it’s something everyone knows about by now. I’ve got to be different! Plus I know you’re all dying to find another way to use up the 10 lb bag of chia seeds you decided you just HAD to have. I stared at my chia seeds for a while and rolled some ideas around in my head until it hit me that they look a lot like my favorite black sesame seeds that I always add to sushi rice!
Since I live in the landlocked state of Colorado it’s not always easy (or cheap) to find sushi-grade fish, and you can only go so far with Krab (ie the fake crab that’s actually white fish) and avocado rolls. So I really LOVE to make onigiri. Onigiri are Japanese rice balls that are often found in bento boxes. They’re sometimes eaten plain, but often filled with leftovers like dried or salted fish, pickled vegetables, or fried foods. Most are wrapped or decorated with nori which are sheets of roasted and dried seaweed. (The Japanese equivalent of the kale chip!)
This recipe is definitely not a fully traditional onigiri because I recommend using rice with a bit of sugar and rice vinegar added for more flavor and ease of forming it into balls. We’re also adding in the chia seeds so we get their additional fiber, protein and omega-3s. (And to make them look pretty of course!)
I chose to fill these with canned tuna since it’s simple and makes for a great lunch, but you can choose to fill them with whatever you want. Bits of fried chicken, pickled vegetables, a bit of wasabi, make sweet ones with mango or bean paste, use up some BBQ, taco meat, tofu, you name it! There’s tons of other onigiri recipes out there so go be inspired by a few or make up your own combinations with what’s leftover in your fridge. (My favorite.)
If you have your own chia seed recipes (old or new) be sure to link up with us at the end of this post!
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Chia Seed Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30
Description
These Chia Seed Onigiri are Japanese filled rice balls packed with the nutritional power of chia seeds!
Ingredients
For Basic Sushi Rice
- 1 cup uncooked sticky rice (sometimes called sushi rice or glutenous rice – found in the asian foods section)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For Onigiri
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2–3 sheets of nori for sushi (roasted seaweed sheets usually found in the asian foods section)
- 1 cup of your favorite filling (I used canned tuna mixed with a bit of mayo) (optional)
Instructions
- Place uncooked rice, water, rice vinegar, salt and 1Tbsp sugar in your rice cooker and stir. Turn on the rice cooker, wait for it to finish the cooking cycle (20-30 min).
- Mix the chia seeds into the hot cooked rice, then let rice stand with the lid open for an additional 5-10 minutes so it cools enough to handle.
- There’s many ways to form rice balls. The simplest way is to press some rice into a small rounded bowl or round biscuit cutter, add a tablespoon of filling, then top with more rice and press it together in the bowl/mold with your hands or the bottom of a cup. (See photos above.) Remove from bowl/mold and shape it a bit more to get the rounded or triangular shape.
- You can also spread some rice out into your hand, press filling into the center, fold the rice around the filling, and shape it into a ball or triangle with your hands.
- Once it has been formed, wrap it with a strip of nori and serve.
- If storing for later, wrap the rice ball closely in plastic wrap and keep the nori and rice ball separate until ready to eat to avoid soggy seaweed.
- This recipe will make approximately 6 onigiri, but your sizes may vary depending on how you mold them.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Yes, this is not a traditional onigiri recipe because I’m using sushi rice and mixing in chia seeds. I like going against the grain (of rice) sometimes. 😉
- This recipe assumes you have a rice cooker. For stovetop directions, I prefer to use Alton Brown’s recipe here, cut in half.
- Feel free to sub in your favorite filling ideas or even use brown rice.
- Gluten-free: This is gluten-free.
- Vegetarian/vegan: choose a vegetarian-friendly filling or skip the filling all together and make rice balls.
Pin This Chia Seed Onigiri Recipe for Later!
Meal Plan Monday 4/20-4/26:
Click Here for the (Now Mobile-Friendly) Weekly Shopping List Printable!
This meal plan is designed to feed approximately 4 adults at each meal or two adults with lunches left over. Feel free to double or add to it as needed. **You’ll need to open it with the free Adobe Reader App (Android or iOS) to be able to use the check boxes on mobile, so install that first if you don’t have it already.**
Monday: These Chia Seed Onigiri – see recipe above. (gluten-free, vegetarian/vegan option). – The Japanese equivalent of the sandwich. Bulk up the nutrition of the rice with some superfood chia seeds!
Tuesday: My Jicama Strawberry Summer Salad (gluten-free, vegetarian/vegan option) – Even though we are still getting spring snows, berry season seems to be in full swing at the grocery store. I’ve been craving tons of salad this week, so we’re going to pretend summer is here and bust out this salad!
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Frittata with Broccoli, Ham, and Swiss from Kalyn’s Kitchen (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, vegetarian without the ham.) – I know what you’re thinking – a fritatta in the slow cooker?! What black magic is this?! It really does work. (And it’s delicious!) Just be aware that you need to spray the insert really well or use one of my favorite slow cooker liners. This is also a 2.5 hour slow cooker recipe, not an all day one, so those of you who work outside the home may want to save this one for a weekend.
Thursday: Sweet Potato Enchiladas Skillet Casserole from This Gal Cooks (gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan if you skip the cheeses) – I have been all about the one pan dinners loaded with veggies. Sweet potatoes make some yummy enchiladas!
Friday: Rosemary Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Skewers from Mom on Time Out with a side of my Mexican Corn Salad (gluten-free if using gf Worcestershire sauce) – Grilling season is about to be in full swing!! These are two of my favorite recipes to toss on the grill and kick off the weekend!
Saturday: Date Night – Eat Out.
Sunday: Y.O.Y.O. (You’re on your own.)
Link Up Your Chia Seed Challenge Recipes!
Get Ready For Next Month’s Challenge!
Our challenge for the month of May will be POPSICLES! To celebrate the beginning of Summer, break out your popsicle molds and get creative. Will you create a fruit popsicle? Chocolate? Or a unique flavor combination that’s never been made in popsicle form before?
Start brainstorming and get ready to link up with us during the 3rd week of May.
What is your favorite way to use chia seeds?
Linked up with:
Ahh, I can’t wait to try these! My fiancé and I absolutely love Asian foods, especially Japanese dishes. This is one we have never tried. I have made homemade sushi rice before, so I’m sure this recipe would be pretty easy for me. Plus I have a ton of extra chia seeds to use. I’ll definitely be making this once Andrew finishes his Paleo month!
It’s super simple if you’ve made the rice before. And it’s basically poor man’s sushi. (Since we mostly just love the rice, seaweed and veggies anyways.) But it’s totally NOT paleo. The day after I made these, my doctor suggested I try a paleo/low carb/net carb diet to go along with new medications she’s trying me on. (Long story, but I’m not dying by any means.) My heart kind of sank and I told her I’d just made these. She told me I absolutely had to finish them off (Doctor’s orders) and I should bring one by her office if I needed help eating them. Haha!
Fun post; I haven’t experimented much with chia seeds yet. Thanks so much for including my slow cooker frittata in your meal plan!
You’re welcome Kalyn! It’s delicious! (And simple too – my favorite!) I think you’d like chia seeds. If not this recipe, then maybe add them to a smoothie or a juice. They puff up a bit like boba pearls or tapioca.
YAY! Totally just linked up 🙂
Yay!! That strawberry shortcake chia oatmeal looks amazing!!
This looks like something my family would enjoy and it looks easy which is something I have to have in order to function in the kitchen. 🙂
I am pinning this recipe and THANK You for telling me details like what glutenous rice is and where it is found and also about the nori sheets. I have always wanted to know where and what those were!! (Found you on Peony’s group!)
I hope your family loves them!! And thank you for your pin and sweet comment. I always try to gear my recipes towards making them accessible to everyone (especially if there’s uncommon ingredients), and I’m glad to know it’s appreciated. 🙂
You can also always ask a grocery store worker if you need help. I took a photo of a weird veggie I needed for a recipe to the produce guy once and he found it for me, showed me how to choose and prepare it, and now he says hi to me every time I’m in the store. You can make a new friend over seaweed!
Yum yum yum yum yum! I love onigiri! Using chia seeds is so creative!
I love it too!! I had friends come over and help make them and they didn’t believe they were a real thing until I showed them the onigiri emoji. Haha!
The chia seeds can be noticeable if you add a ton (I like the crunch), or you can just use them as more of a garnish – either way, it’s a great way to bump the nutrition of something that’s usually a carb bomb.
Perfect thank you! I wanted to add the chia seeds to rice and was wondering if you added them during cooking or after. I’ll try your way and add salted fish and other leftovers inside. Genius.