Onigrazu Babi Jahe

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients. For the steamed rice, see how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
2. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a working surface. Place 1 sheet of nori (dried laver seaweed) on top (shiny side facing down) with a corner pointing up. For this recipe, I shaped my onigirazu using an onigirazu mold; However, you can neatly layer the ingredients without one as well. Evenly spread ½ cup cooked Japanese short-grain rice in a thin layer in a square/rectangular shape in the center of nori sheet. Sprinkle with a little bit of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Salt has two purposes for this recipe. First, it adds flavor. Second, salt prevents the food from spoiling as we eat onigiri, onigirazu, and bento at room temperature, and typically without refrigeration.
3. Place 1 lettuce leaf on top of the rice and drizzle with some Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise. Then, put the shogayaki (ginger pork) on top. When you add the fillings, consider how you will cut the onigirazu later. You want to arrange the fillings so when you slice the onigirazu in half, the ingredients are revealed in a way that looks delicious.
4. Place ½ cup cooked Japanese short-grain rice on top, maintaining a nice square/rectangular shape. If you have an onigirazu mold, moisten the “lid” before you press down so the rice doesn't stick to it. Place the lid on top and press gently.
5. Pull up the mold carefully while pressing down on the lid. If you're not using a mold, make sure to stack the ingredients nicely.
6. Bring the left and right corners of the nori sheet towards the center. Fold gently but tightly to wrap around the rice and filling at the center. Then bring bottom and top corners towards the center. Continue to fold gently but tightly around the layers. Make sure the rice is tucked away nicely. If your onigirazu is a square shape, you can mark the onigirazu with a rice kernel so you will remember which way you want to cut later on.
7. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside for 5 minutes with the nori's seam side down. After 5 minutes, cut the onigirazu with a sharp knife. Run your knife in running water before cutting so that the cross-section will be clean.
8. If you plan to make this the previous night, wrap the onigirazu with a kitchen towel and keep it in the refrigerator overnight (with the plastic wrap on). The towel will prevent the rice from getting hardened due to the cold temperature. Eat within 24 hours.