ジェーン・スー 生活は踊る · Society & Culture
リスナー情報コーナー(水) 買ってよかった！イチ押しアイテム図鑑:nicoキッチン パリパリのり切り隊(アーネスト株式会社)
A listener from Yokohama recommended the Niko Kitchen Paripari Nori Kiritai (ニコキッチン パリパリのり切り隊) by Ernest Co., Ltd. on the Wednesday segment of Jane Su: Seikatsu wa Odoru, and hosts Jane Su (ジェーン・スー) and Sugiyama-san put the ¥1,650 tool through its paces in the studio. The device punches 172 tiny holes into a sheet of nori, making it easy enough to bite through with gums alone — and the experiment also revealed the little-known secret behind why convenience-store onigiri nori is so effortless to eat. The item was registered as the 140th entry in the show's listener-recommendation encyclopedia.
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What this episode answers
What is the structure of the Niko Kitchen Paripari Nori Kiritai, and how do you use it?
It consists of two parts: an 11 cm × 11 cm square silicone mat and a gently curved plate with 172 fine protrusions. You lay a sheet of nori on the mat and press the plate firmly down, creating perforations so small they are invisible to the naked eye.
Which listener recommended this product, and what was their reason for doing so?
Hacchan-Jennyu (はっちゃんジェンヌ), a woman from Yokohama, recommended it after using it during her son's weaning stage — he had no teeth at all yet loved nori voraciously, and once she perforated the nori he was able to bite through it with his gums and eat it successfully.
What difference did the studio taste test reveal between perforated and unperforated nori?
Unperforated nori stuck inside the mouth and had a rubbery, stretchy quality, while perforated nori bit through cleanly and did not cling; the gap was still clearly apparent an hour and a half later when the nori had gone limp.
Why is the nori on convenience-store onigiri so easy to bite through?
Convenience-store onigiri nori is perforated with countless tiny holes at the manufacturing stage — that industry practice is the reason it is so much easier to bite through than a plain sheet of nori.
In what situations was this product said to be useful?
It is useful for toothless infants during weaning and for adults eating onigiri, hand-rolled sushi, and nori-ben; the satisfying crunch of perforating the nori was also mentioned as something fun to do with children.
The 140th Entry in the "Best Purchases" Encyclopedia
The Wednesday slot on *Jane Su: Seikatsu wa Odoru* belongs to the "Sue-san, This One's Great Too" corner, where Sue and Sugiyama-san introduce one listener-recommended item per episode and add a single character to a growing visual encyclopedia. With 139 characters already in place, this week's pick marks the milestone 140th entry. The episode also falls during "Onigiri Week," a special run of rice-ball-themed items.
The Listener's Recommendation and What Prompted It
The entry came from a woman living in Yokohama, posting under the radio name Hacchan-Jennyu (はっちゃんジェンヌ). She recommends the Niko Kitchen Paripari Nori Kiritai (ニコキッチン パリパリのり切り隊) by Ernest Co., Ltd. (アーネスト株式会社), priced at ¥1,650 including tax.
Her son was still in the weaning stage — not a single tooth had come in — yet he loved nori with what she described as the ferocity of an animal going after prey. Searching for a way to let him eat it safely, she discovered this product. After perforating a sheet of nori and wrapping it around rice, she found he could tear through it with his gums alone and eat without trouble. She adds that it is just as valuable for adults: those moments during hand-rolled sushi or onigiri when the nori refuses to cut cleanly and the rice threatens to spill are, in her words, "solved in one go."
How the Product Works
The Niko Kitchen Paripari Nori Kiritai is made up of two components. The first is an 11 cm × 11 cm square silicone mat that serves as a base, similar to a stamp pad. The second is a gently curved perforating plate packed with 172 fine pointed protrusions — Sue likened it to a miniature version of the acupressure mats (shaktimats) that have recently become popular.
Usage is straightforward: lay a sheet of nori on the silicone mat and press the plate firmly down on top. The moment you do, you hear a crisp, satisfying "pari-pari" crunch. Sue confessed she immediately wanted to do it a second time just for the sensation. Despite the 172 punctures, the holes are so fine that you cannot tell by eye whether the nori has been perforated at all.
Taste Test: Perforated vs. Unperforated Nori
Studio staff had purchased the product in advance and prepared both kinds of nori for a side-by-side comparison. Starting with unperforated nori, both hosts noticed it stuck inside the mouth and left a rubbery, stretching sensation. Switching to the perforated version, it bit through cleanly, came apart easily, and did not cling to the inside of the mouth.
The team also compared onigiri made around noon with nori that had been sitting for about an hour and a half. By then the unperforated nori had gone limp and soggy, making the rubbery pull even more pronounced. The perforated nori, even in that softened state, still snapped cleanly. Sue added that the effect is even more noticeable with cheaper nori.
The Secret Behind Convenience-Store Onigiri Nori
The conversation led Sue to ask why convenience-store onigiri nori is always so easy to bite through. The answer, revealed in the studio, is that it is already perforated with countless tiny holes at the manufacturing stage — the same principle at work in an entirely different context. "I always thought the nori in store-bought onigiri just peeled off so neatly on its own," Sue said, "but now I understand." Both hosts agreed that the tool would be equally handy for nori-topped rice bowls (nori-ben).
Overall Verdict and Use Cases
Sue recalled a friend whose child went through a phase of eating nothing but small nori-maki onigiri, leaving the friend making them in large batches every single day. "I wish I could have given her this back then," Sue said. The segment closed with the item officially registered as the 140th encyclopedia entry — the character added this time being "ノ" (the first character of *nori kiritai*) — and both hosts framed it as a product that expresses care for whoever is eating, useful for nursing infants, children, and adults across onigiri, hand-rolled sushi, and nori-ben.
Takeaways
- Ernest Co., Ltd.'s Niko Kitchen Paripari Nori Kiritai (¥1,650 tax included) uses 172 protrusions to punch invisible perforations into nori, making it easy to bite through even with gums alone.
- Studio testing confirmed a clear gap: perforated nori bites cleanly even after going limp, while unperforated nori grows increasingly rubbery over time.
- Convenience-store onigiri nori is perforated with countless holes at the factory, which is why it is so much easier to eat than a plain sheet of homemade nori.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.