Japanese Tuna Onigiri. A delicious rice ball stuffed with tuna mayo and wrapped with nori. Perfect as a snack or light meal. This 15-minute recipe only requires 7 ingredients!
What is Japanese Tuna Onigiri?
Japanese Tuna Onigiri is short grain rice seasoned with sesame oil and salt and shaped into a triangle wrapped with nori or dry roasted seaweed. The creamy filling is a tuna mayo mixture. It's a popular Japanese snack, meal or breakfast item sold at many Japanese convenience stores. Many hungry commuters or students enjoy eating this because it's filling, cheap and quick. There are also many variations of onigiri with different fillings like spam, eel, tempura and more.
You can easily make this Japanese dish at home with minimal ingredients without a mould and just with your hands or plastic wrap. I love making this dish because I usually have some cooked rice in the fridge and a can of tuna lying around. It's super convenient to make when I have little time to whip up a meal.
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Cooked short grain rice: this is recommended so the rice can stick together. Avoid using medium or long grain rice
- Salt
- Sesame oil
- Canned tuna
- Japanese mayo: aka kewpie mayo or substitute with normal mayo.
- Nori or a sheet of dry roasted seaweed
How to make tuna mayo onigiri
- In a large mixing bowl, mix your warm cooked rice, sesame oil, salt and sesame seeds until well combined. Keep warm and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine drained canned tuna and mayo together. Set aside. Divide it into 2 equal portions.
- Cut half a sheet of nori into 2 strips or feel free to use a whole sheet if you prefer more seaweed.
- Lay out a large sheet of plastic wrap on your working surface. Take 1 cup of cooked rice and spread it out into a circle so it's ½ inch thick.
- Place 1 portion of the tuna mayo mixture into the center of the circle. Then take the corners of the plastic wrap and twist the rice into a ball pushing the tuna mixture inside.
- Shape the rice ball into a triangle.
- Remove the plastic wrap and adhere a strip of the nori around the base of the triangle rice ball. Enjoy!
Storage
Onigiri is best consumed immediately. If rice is stored in the fridge for too long, the rice will become hard.
FAQ
Other fillings for Onigiri?
- Salmon with mayo
- Sliced fried spam or ham
- Fish roe
- Teriyaki eel
- Shrimp tempura
Can you make onigiri the night before?
You can but I would recommend consuming within 12 hours or as soon as possible as rice can grow bacteria quickly.
Other Recipes You May Like
- Spicy Tuna Onigiri
- Korean Rice Balls
- Tenmusu (Shrimp Tempura Rice Ball)
- Spicy Tuna Kimbap
- Bulgogi Beef Triangle Kimbap
- Spam Musubi
- Spam Kimbap
📖 Recipe
15-min. Easy Japanese Tuna Onigiri
Ingredients
- ½ sheet nori cut into 2 strips
Seasoned Rice
- 2 cups cooked short grain rice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Tuna Mayo Mixture
- 5.29 oz canned tuna drained
- 2 tablespoon mayo aka kewpie mayo
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix your warm cooked rice, sesame oil, salt and sesame seeds until well combined. Keep warm and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine drained canned tuna and mayo together. Set aside. Divide it into 2 equal portions.
- Cut half a sheet of nori into 2 strips or feel free to use a whole sheet if you prefer more seaweed.
- Lay out a large sheet of plastic wrap on your working surface. Take 1 cup of cooked rice and spread it out into a circle so it's ½ inch thick.
- Place 1 portion of the tuna mayo mixture into the center of the circle. Then take the corners of the plastic wrap and twist the rice into a ball pushing the tuna mixture inside.
- Shape the rice ball into a triangle.
- Remove the plastic wrap and adhere a strip of the nori around the base of the triangle rice ball. Enjoy!
Christina
is there a specific brand of canned tuna? or would any canned tuna in the super market work?
christieathome
Any canned tuna will work 🙂
Lexi
With this recipe, and my instant pot for sticky rice, we love making onigiri!! Ever since we found your recipe, me and my oldest have so much fun making it together. Thanks for the memories!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Lexi! This really brings a smile to my face and happy I can help trigger some good memories 🙂
Val
What should I do with leftover mayo tuna?
Really good, even though I had to use thin egg strips in place of nori.
Barbara
I'm confused. Do you mean that I have to make rice for sushi (adding ingredients to the hot short-grain rice) before I can make onigiri?
christieathome
This recipe calls for cooked short grain rice that you would then season with the instructed ingredients and then you would stuff it with the tuna mixture. There's a video in the recipe card to further demonstrate how this is made.
Rebecca Dillon
Oooh. This sounds really good. I've never tried this dish before but it's definitely on my list now.
christieathome
Thanks Rebecca! They're so good as a snack!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I loved the adorable triangle shapes you used to create these little tuna wonders... and I think this would be such a fun recipe to make with the kiddos!
christieathome
Thanks so much Heidi! They really would be so fun for the kids!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Love love tuna onigiri! It's my kids' favourite, so we make it all the time! Yours look amazing!
christieathome
OMGosh same!! I've been eating it non stop haha! It's just my favourite little snack!
TONYA
My hands are my favorite tools! I love that it's only seven ingredients. WIN!
christieathome
Thank you so much!!
Rosemary
Tuna is one of my favorite fishes, after salmon! And... that sticky rice looks AMAZING Girl!! Gawd I am really craving some Asian food now