Step 1

Follow the instructions in my sushi rice post, but do not season the rice with the sushi vinegar mixture (you will be seasoning it with salt when shaping it). Keep the rice warm in a covered bowl.

Step 2

If you want to fill your onigiri, combine the miso paste and garlic powder. For the carrot kinpira, heat the sesame oil in a small skillet over medium.

Step 3

Once hot, sauté the carrots and minced garlic for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the soy sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Step 4

Add filtered water to one bowl and salt to another. Wet both hands with the water, then dip a few fingers into the bowl of salt and rub your hands together (this will prevent the rice from sticking, and add flavor).

Step 5

Grab a palmful of sticky rice, pressing it together slightly. Holding it in one palm of your hand, make a small indentation in the middle. Fill it with a teaspoon of garlic-miso paste or carrots.

Step 6

Close the rice over the filling into a ball, pressing it gently. Close the fingers of your bottom hand, and at the same time, press over the rice ball with your top fingers in a perpendicular motion. Continue pressing and shaping the rice into a triangle, using mainly your fingers.

Step 7

Once it’s shaped, you can wrap it in a piece of nori. Place the onigiri in the middle of the cut nori. Fold one side over, followed by the other (like a robe).

Step 8

Tuck the bottom underneath and set the onigiri down. Add a fingerful of filling to the top so you know which flavor it is.

Step 9

Add filtered water to one bowl and salt to another. Wet both hands with the water, then dip a few fingers into the bowl of salt and rub your hands together

Step 10

Grab a palmful of sticky rice, and shape it into a triangle the same as before.

Step 11

Once shaped, Add a strip of nori underneath it. Sprinkle or roll the outsides in sesame seeds. Continue with the remaining rice. Happy eating!