Onigiri (Japanese rice balls)
Australians eat a lot of sushi. There is always at least one sushi outlet in every food court, shopping centre, and often in strip shopping areas as well. Sushi first came to Australia in the 1980s. In 2011, it was estimated we ate 115.6 million servings each year. In the last 10 years, the popularity of sushi has only increased. So, I have to admit it seems odd that most Australians have never heard of onigiri. In my earlier travels to Japan, I had seen onigiri in convenience stores on a shelf near the sushi, but I hadn’t really paid them much attention. That changed in June 2024, when I visited Japan and did a couple of cooking classes in Osaka. One of these classes was for onigiri. The class was held on the island of Awaji — such a wonderful venue to learn this ancient art. Archaeologists have found evidence of primitive onigiri in ruins dating back to the first century AD! Since then, rice balls have been used as rations for soldiers and portable meals for travellers. In some regio...
