These Chicken Teriyaki Onigiri are my new favourite rice balls! Marinated in a homemade tomato and orange sauce, filled with sweet and savoury chicken thighs and crispy nori sheets, they are absolutely delicious. They taste best at a picnic, or bring these little delicacies as a snack to your next Japanese night!
Chicken Teriyaki, of course, is a true classic of Japanese cuisine. The sweet and savoury sauce made from soy sauce, Mirin, Sake and sugar is absolutely heavenly! Teriyaki chicken is often served as a topping over a bowl of rice. Today, we’re going to turn things around a bit and use it to flavour the freshly cooked rice instead!
If you’d like to find out more about Onigiri, I recommend this post: → How to make your own Onigiri: 5 passaggi per le palline di riso giapponesi!
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And there’s a little bonus highlight on top of that 😉. For this recipe, we’re also flavouring the Teriyaki marinade with a bit of tomato purée and orange juice. This gives the chicken thighs a delicate, fruity sweetness. Incredibly simple, yet absolutely delicious!
For the marinade, we first mix the tomato purée with the orange juice in a small bowl to prevent lumps from forming. Then we add the soy sauce, Sake, Mirin, sugar and water.
Oh, and I never really leave out the vegetables. That’s why we sweat the chicken thighs together with roughly chopped leek and a bit of garlic. Now pour the finished marinade into the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let everything simmer gently for 15 minutes. That looks really tasty already!
Next comes the hard work: removing the meat from the bone. Then we mix everything together again with enough marinade to create a lovely glossy mixture for seasoning the rice balls. Now fold everything into the freshly cooked rice (click here for the recipe)
Next, shape the onigiri: using your wet palms, press some rice into a round ball and then gently flatten it slightly into a round disc. Now wrap the onigiri in Nori. And there you have it, your homemade chicken Teriyaki Onigiri!
You can find all the details and pictures for each step of the preparation here in my recipe. Have fun and good luck!
Chicken Teriyaki Onigiri
serves 6 | 45 minutes | 367 kcal
🖨️ Print PDF 📌 Save pinThese Chicken Teriyaki Onigiri are my new favourite rice balls! Marinated in a homemade tomato -orange sauce, filled with sweet and savoury chicken thighs and crispy nori sheets, they are absolutely delicious. They taste best at a picnic, or why not bring these little treats along as a snack for your next Japanese night!
Ingredients (for 6 pieces)
600 g cooked rice (see recipe):
✔ 300 g loose rice (im Shop ansehen)*
✔ 300 ml water (fresh, cold tap water)
✔ 1 pinch salt
For the filling:
200 g chicken thighs (alternatively chicken breast fillet)
1/2 leek (alternatively spring onions)
1 clove of garlic
3 tbsp oil (e.g. rapeseed oil)
a little salt & pepper
For the marinade:
1 tbsp (heaped) tomato purée
5 tbsp orange juice
5 tbsp soya sauce (im Shop ansehen)*
5 tbsp Sake (im Shop ansehen)*
2 tbsp Mirin (im Shop ansehen)*
2 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp water
1 piece Nori sheets (im Shop ansehen)*
Useful utensils:
Japanese Santoku knife (im Shop ansehen)
Preparation (45 minutes)
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients for the Onigiri and get the rice ready (see the recipe here in a rice cooker or in a pan + leave to cool for 20 minutes).
Step 2
Prepare the filling for the Japanese rice balls: to do this, wash the leek , dry it and cut it into 5 cm pieces, then peel the garlic .
Passaggio 3
Wash the chicken thighs under running water and pat dry. Then season both sides with salt and pepper and rub in gently.
Step 4
For the marinade, first mix the tomato purée with the orange juice in a small bowl to prevent lumps from forming. Then add the soy sauce, Sake, Mirin, sugar and water . Mix everything well and set aside.
Step 5
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the chicken thighs on both sides until they are lightly browned.
Step 6
Then add the leek , press the garlic through a garlic press and fry together again.
Passaggio 7
Now pour the prepared marinade into the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let everything simmer gently for 15 minutes. Halfway through, turn the chicken thighs so that the marinade is well distributed.
Passaggio 8
Once the chicken thighs are cooked, remove them from the pan.
Tip: The leek has released all its flavour and can be discarded. However, you can also chop it up and mix it into the rice later!
Reduce the remaining marinade for a further 5 minutes</ strong>. Then pour the marinade into a bowl to cool.
Passaggio 9
Then separate the chicken thighs from the bone (preferably using a small knife) and chop the meat into small pieces. Return the pieces of meat to the bowl and mix with enough marinade (about 5 tbsp) to create a nice, glossy mixture for seasoning the rice balls.
Step 10
Gently fold the chicken Teriyaki mixture into the cooked rice.
Cut the nori sheet into small rectangles with scissors.
Passaggio 11
Fill a small bowl with lightly salted water and set it aside. Wet your hands thoroughly in the water to shape the rice balls (as if you were about to wash your hands).
Take about 120 g of the seasoned rice and, using pressure between your wet palms, first shape it into a round ball and then carefully flatten it slightly to form round discs.
Tip: You can also use cling film as an aid or special Onigiri moulds ;).
Shape a total of 6 Onigiri.
Step 12
Now wrap the Onigiri in Nori .
13. Step
Once the Onigiri is ready, it should be eaten as soon as possible. Onigiri are best when fresh, as the rice quickly becomes dry after a while and the nori sheet turns slightly soggy. Ready – Itadakimasu!
Are you looking for even more delicious onigiri recipe ideas from Japan? Here you’ll find my most popular guides:
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Have you tried the recipe? Let me know in the comments – I can’t wait to hear from you!
