Why Japan is Changing its Most Popular Food

Onigiri (or riceballs) have existed in some form in Japan for over 2,000 years. Across the centuries it has served different purposes and roles in Japanese society. I traced onigiri's history to the present, to taste traditional onigiri at a restaurant called Onigiri Bongo. However, at the same time, the role of onigiri might be about to change again. Let's explore onigiri in the 21st century, where old and new onigiri co-exist.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Credits:
Producer - Matthew Li
Production Assistant - Mana Chuabang
Script Supervisor - Russ Medcalf

Special thanks:
Louis Govier
Yusef Iqbal
Yeevonne Lim
Dylan Payne
Onigiri Bongo
Tanagokoro

Music from Musicbed

SOURCES:

Timestamps:
0:00 - why is onigiri so important to Japan?
1:26 - what is onigiri?
2:21 - how onigiri existed for 2000 years
4:59 - trying 7-eleven onigiri
6:16 - onigiri bongo
8:02 - onigirazu
9:03 - trying onigirazu

[tysonristau]

5:41 he didn’t explain the reason for the special packaging. The seaweed is packed separate from the rice and so it’s still crunchy when you open and eat it

[balduccirichard]

Great video, just one side note: tuna with mayonnaise doesn't sound weird at all, it's one of the best combinations for canned tuna 😍

[anthonybottigliero]

The whole "food for the people" aspect is exactly what I love about "street food".

[Sacto]

I think _onigiri_ changed to the modern style for one reason: easier to make by machine. The older style _onigiri_, which you can still get pretty easily in Japan, is hand-made and is fairly labor-intensive.

[aggressive_pizza]

It would've also been worth mentioning that onigiri comes from the verb nigiru (握る), meaning to "grasp"/"hold", because of the way you have to mold the rice into its usual triangle shape whereas onigirazu literally means "without grasping" because you don't mold the whole thing into a ball.
That's why nigiri also refers to the flat-bed type of sushi (握り寿司) as opposed to the "maki" sushi roll (巻き寿司) where maki means "to roll up" 😄

[JoellePretty]

I've been slightly obsessed with making onigirazu for breakfast (in the U.S.) the past couple months. I didn't realize it was such a recent evolution. Thanks for this video.

[schweinebauchsandwich]

As a half japanese person who grows up in europ is onigiri a childhood memory food I know it's not the best food in Japan but for me it is the taste of the mother's love

[jackpagn]

Like Italians have 2k+ forms of pizza, Japanese ppl have 2k+ forms of rice + seaweed

[osherfein]

The Bill Wurtz “history of japan” reference made me laugh out loud

[daltonz]

Onigiri can be gluten free, but it typically isn’t when gotten from Japanese convenience stores. The gluten comes from the soy sauce used in the filling which is typically “cut” or bulked up with wheat.

[Emeraldwitch]

This video makes me feel better about how I fill my onigiri at home in the US as an old white lady, lol
Of course, tuna mayo is a given, but my hubby is not into fish or strong tasting fish/ingredients
I've put a slice of ham and cheese and scrambled egg for him. Or bacon and egg
My other favorite is opening a tin of smoked kippers or smoked herring/mackerel and mashing it a bit for the middle.
Smoky oily fish really goes well in the salty rice.
Sometimes nice ripe kimchee goes right in the middle, too!
I don't always have big sheets of nori so I tend to pack them naked and bring a few packages of korean gim snacks to wrap them in so it's still crispy.
The trader joes teriyaki flavor is really good on the outside.
Left over teriyaki salmon or chicken also goes well in there.
I never claim its authentic lol
But my half Japanese brother in law absolutely loves the smoked kipper ones.
If we go out fishing for the day, I've been asked to bring double if he's going lol. But he brings the beer 🍺 😂 and edamame beans. Oh and occasionally a huge bag of deep fried salmon skin. Better than corn chips 😅

[vianabdullah]

Makes sense that there's bargain bin sandwiches that you take at the local convinience store, but also gones that are a genuine meal. No reason onigiri can't be the same.

[jif.]

Born in Japan, Raised in Hawaiʻi since age 7. The onigiraza reminds me very much of Hawaiʻi`s very popular Spam-Musubi which has evolved into teri-chicken musubi, tamago musubi, hot-dog musubi etc. The original shape of the Spam musubi was dictated due to the shaped of the Spam slice between the two rice layers, and wrapped in nori. Thought Japanese in origin, it has become a very Hawaiʻi thing. If youʻree ever in Hawaiʻi you should try it. Hawaiʻi 7-11 stores always carry a nice variety.

[oopsneyt]

I really like the concept your videos! At first, I thought you were a big channel already. Hope you keep producing these gems.

[muquietto]

Thank you for the video. Here onigiri is usually served in japanese restaurant as a starter for ramen, getting a window to the history and concept behind the food is actually much appreciated.

[Activated_Complex]

A natto rice ball and a can of Boss Black coffee was my usual breakfast in Japan, and easily powered me through the day up to lunchtime or even late afternoon. The hand-made onigiri you tried out look amazing, but also, I couldn't get over their size. They're huge! I get that there's a generous amount of filling, but it looks like there's also a donburi order's worth of rice there.

[johnmarengo]

Onigiri with Ume boshi is my go to, I love it! My Okinawan mother used to make Onigiri with miso paste inside too, but she always made them in round balls as oposed to the triangle shapes you see sold all over Japan.

[Campernicus]

3:48 "when the U.S. 'asked' japan to open the country" 🤣 come on

[drunkredninja]

production quality is casual yet top notch, you deserve more subs my boi

[netic_fx]

Honestly, I love these and thought it was more convenient than even a sandwich. I could buy a fifty-pound bag of rice that would never go stale and cost about 20% of what I would pay for even poor-quality bread so that is what I did. Plus a bad of rice that massive was only really sold at an Asian grocery I knew and so I got to pick up stuff not found in a typical grocery.