Food stories

These Japanese Rice Balls Are (Almost) Too Cute to Eat

When it comes to snacks in unusual shapes, the Japanese take the crown. We recently wrote about chubby butt buns, and now it’s time for the rice ball tutorials from Onigiri Gekijou.

Foto van culinair journalist Steffi Posthumus

door Steffi Posthumus

The YouTube channel of ‘Onigiri Gekijou‘ — loosely translated: Rice Ball Theater — has only been around for about a month, but already has 148,000 subscribers. And we can see why, because they share wonderfully (seemingly) simple tutorials for making the most beautiful rice balls.

Onigiri is rice with a salty or sour filling and — just like sushi — wrapped in dried seaweed. It’s sold all over Japan (and beyond), usually in the shape of a ball or triangle. That last part is where ‘Onigiri Gekijou‘ truly lives up to its name. Because here you won’t find any boring balls or triangles. No, no. Cat heads, aliens, bare bottoms or — well, why not — gas masks: nothing is too crazy.