Just Bento

I can't imagine trying to make onigiri with rice that's been in a refrigerator, never mind for two days. It's just something I'd never attempt.

I eat onigiri all the time but I've only ever made them from freshly cooked hot rice. It's only now, after years of not using a rice cooker, that I feel able to make onigiri 12 hours later or so as the rice stays warm in the appliance.

Phyllis, refrigerated rice will always harden up. You've got to restore the moisture to the grains if your want to eat stored rice. Sprinkle the rice with water and reheat in a pot or microwave. The amount of water depends on the the volume of rice.

Best choice for onigiri, however, is to make your onigiri when the rice is fresh, still moist, and hot. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Reheat in microwave before eating.

I've been using Maki's technique for making onigiri in a plastic wrapped lined bowl; then when I want to serve it, I have the right size for an ochawan (rice bowl).

It's a storage issue. The refrigerator is probably the driest place in your house. It's like a cold desert in there! So I recommend never storing rice in the fridge, unless you want separate grains (e.g. to make fried rice or something). For onigiri you want moist, plump grains. If you must store rice or onigiri for later, wrap it up in plastic wrap while it's still a bit warm (the condensation that forms inside the plastic keeps the rice moist) then warm it up a bit in the microwave before proceeding. However, rice stored like this does not keep well, so be sure to eat it within a day.

I see - thank you everyone! I really did look carefully at all of the rice/onigiri tips on Just Bento and of course I mised seeing this information until you all pointed it out to me. So think the key is to make small quanitities of rice the night before, wrap it carefully tokeep it moist and use it up in onigiri the next morning.

If you are going to all the work of washing and cooking your rice, why not make a big batch and then freeze the excess? Biggie over at http://lunchinabox.net/ writes about making rice every ten days for her family of three. She also writes about freezing to fit your bento box. http://lunchinabox.net/2007/02/26/speed-bento-technique-freezing-rice-to...