ゲストコーナー:藤井流！ふっくら仕上がるおにぎりの握り方とイチオシレシピ／料理研究家で管理栄養士・藤井恵さん

Fujii Megumi's Onigiri Philosophy: Ultra-Concentrated Salt Water for a Fluffy, Perfectly Salted Finish

Fujii Megumi (藤井恵), a culinary researcher and registered dietitian, began assisting on television cooking programs while still in university and went on to appear on *Kewpie 3-Pun Cooking* for 18 years. Her "Karada Totonoe" (body-balancing) series — including titles such as *Karada Totonoe no Onigiri to Miso Shiru* — has sold more than 150,000 copies in total, and she has developed over 200 onigiri recipes spanning everyday staples to special-occasion showpieces.

The hallmark of Fujii's onigiri is a texture that is firm on the outside yet falls apart in the mouth the moment you bite in. The secret is an ultra-concentrated salt water made by dissolving equal parts boiling water and salt — 50g of salt per 50cc of water, or roughly one tablespoon of salt per one tablespoon of water. Rub the solution thoroughly into both palms so the exterior of the rice picks up an even, well-defined saltiness. Shaping is not a matter of squeezing hard; instead, you tap rhythmically with the whole palm in a "pon-pon-pon" motion, coaxing the rice into form without compacting it. Because the finished onigiri is loosely bound, wrapping it in nori helps hold it together and makes it easier to eat.

Recipe 1: Shiratama Onigiri

Despite the name — "shiratama" usually calls to mind white rice-flour dumplings — the "white gems" here are **kamaage shirasu** (lightly boiled whitebait) and **egg**. Ingredients for two servings: 4 tablespoons kamaage shirasu, 2 eggs, a pinch of salt, 400g cooked rice, and salt water.

Crack the eggs into a frying pan, add the salt, and stir well before turning on the heat. Cook into the finest possible scrambled eggs, then add the shirasu and stir to combine. Fold the mixture into piping-hot rice, divide into four portions, rub salt water into your hands, and form each portion. The finished rice has a cheerful yellow-and-white look reminiscent of fried rice, and the salt hits the palate squarely with the first bite. Because the onigiri delivers protein and calcium in a single package and is gentle on digestion, it is particularly well suited to breakfast or days when the stomach is unsettled.

Recipe 2: Tantan Soboro Onigiri

This recipe concentrates the bold, layered flavors of tantanmen into a rice ball. Ingredients for two servings: 100g ground pork; ½ tablespoon each of miso and sake; 1 teaspoon each of grated garlic and grated ginger; 1 tablespoon finely chopped zha cai (ザーサイ); 1 teaspoon doubanjiang; 1 tablespoon ground white sesame; 2 stalks thin green onion; 400g cooked rice; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; and salt water.

The crucial step is mixing **all the seasonings into the ground pork before cooking**. Stirring with chopsticks at this stage prevents the meat from clumping, so it stays crumbly and light after cooking. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, stir-fry the doubanjiang first to draw out its aroma and heat, then add the pre-seasoned pork and break it apart with chopsticks until it is loose and cooked through. Add the ground sesame, then fold everything together with sliced green onion into freshly cooked rice and form with salt-water hands. The fragrance is unmistakably tantanmen, and the onigiri is satisfyingly substantial. The combination of pork's vitamin B1 and the allicin in green onion supports fatigue recovery, making it a particularly good choice for students studying for exams or anyone who is run-down.

Listener Q&A: Fixing Oil-Soaked Tuna Mayo Onigiri

A listener wrote in with a familiar frustration: she had made tuna mayo onigiri for her child's school excursion — draining canned tuna, mixing it with mayonnaise, shaping it, wrapping it in nori, and sealing it in plastic wrap — but by lunchtime the wrap was drenched in oil.

Fujii offered two fixes. First, switch to **water-packed (soup-packed) tuna** instead of oil-packed; if you must use oil-packed, squeeze it even more thoroughly and add a small amount of lemon juice. Second, **use less mayonnaise** — only enough to barely bind the filling to a stiff, dough-like consistency. Too much mayonnaise is itself a primary cause of oil seeping out.

About Her Books

Fujii's recipes are collected in *Karada Totonoe no Onigiri to Miso Shiru* and *Motto Karada Totonoe Onigiri to Miso Shiru* (both published by Shufu to Seikatsu Sha), available in bookstores and online. A fourth book in the series, *Karada Totonoe Konabe to Shime Gohan*, is scheduled for release, featuring millfeuille hot pot, pork loin and napa cabbage nabe, and finishing rice dishes — well-timed for the coming cold season.