Cooking with Carson: Easy Onigiri

Not traditional but great to pack in your lunch

Not+pictured%3A+me+forgetting+what+a+triangle+is+supposed+to+look+like

CARSON HOLLAND

Not pictured: me forgetting what a triangle is supposed to look like

CARSON HOLLAND, Evergreen columnist

As one of my friends so eloquently put it, Spam is severely slept on, and I could not agree more. This versatile food can be added to breakfast, lunch or dinner adding delicious flavor and protein while also being affordable. It is the food that I always seemed to forget about, but not today.

Onigiri traditionally is a triangle of packed rice, nori and Furikake (rice seasoning but sprinkled on a bunch of different dishes.) There is room to add some things here or there such as protein, but the general trend is the shape and tightly backed nature of the rice. 

This recipe is not going to be entirely traditional. One, I have about as much rice packing skill as the wooden desk in my room so the triangle shape turned out into something of a square. Second, I decided to throw some green onions into the mix. Not the most traditional but certainly added some good flavor. 

Despite it not being traditional, this recipe was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. While Spam has increased in price over the past few months, rice, Furikake and nori are still on the cheaper end. 

Make a bunch of Onigiri and pack them for snacks and lunches, just make sure to make enough to share. 

And in the meantime, I am sure you can form a better triangle shape than I can. 

Hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS 

2 cups of white rice

1 can of Spam

4 green onions

10ish Nori Strips 

Furikake 

Rice, Spam oh my!

Wash your rice until the water comes back clear, then fill in pot or rice cooker until water reaches over your first knuckle

Cook rice using pot method or rice cooker

Chop Spam into tiny little cubes or logs based on preference. 

Add a touch of sesame oil to a pan and turn heat to medium 

Cook Time

Add in Spam and spread out so each piece has contact to the pan

Bring to the edge of the pan and flip 

Cook until lightly crispy 

Chop green onions as thinly as possible

The Onigiri 

Wet hands and form the rice into a rough triangle shape 

Add a small amount of spam and green onions 

Form into 3d triangle shape

Add nori at the bottom of the rice shape and sprinkle Furikake at the top

Enjoy!

If you recreate this recipe or any other recipe, use the hashtag #cookingwithcarson