Korean "fist" rice balls: hot short-grain rice seasoned with sesame oil, salt, and toasted sesame, mixed with crumbled nori, and pressed by hand into compact balls. The classic of dosirak (lunchboxes) and Korean picnics.
Ingredients
- 500 g short-grain sushi rice
- 650 ml cooking water
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 6 sheets toasted nori sheets for gimbap (gim)
Method
- Pour the rice into a large bowl and rinse it with cold water, swishing it by hand: discard the milky water, and repeat 4 to 5 times until the water is almost clear, then drain thoroughly.
- Let the drained rice soak in the cooking water for 30 minutes.
- Cook the rice with its soaking water: bring to a boil uncovered, cover, lower the heat to the minimum, and cook for 12 minutes without ever lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes, still covered.
- Meanwhile, crumble the nori sheets very finely by hand into a bowl (or pulse them for a few seconds in a blender) and mix with the toasted sesame seeds.
- Fan the rice in a large dish or wide bowl, then pour in the sesame oil and salt. Mix gently with a damp spatula using cutting motions to season without crushing the grains.
- Fold in the nori-sesame mixture, holding back a small portion for the garnish, and distribute evenly through the rice.
- Let the rice cool until it is manageable but still very warm: this is the temperature at which it compacts best.
- Lightly wet your palms (or rub them with a drop of sesame oil), take a peach-sized handful of rice, pack it a first time without squeezing too hard, then press it firmly with both hands while turning it to form a dense and even ball. Repeat until all the rice is used.
- Lightly roll each ball in the remaining reserved nori-sesame mixture and serve at room temperature, as in Korea.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 546.5 kcal
- Protein
- 9.92 g
- Carbohydrate
- 98.88 g
- Fat
- 10.91 g
- Fibre
- 2.47 g
- Calcium
- 48.1 mg
- Iron
- 0.73 mg
- Magnesium
- 16.2 mg
