Zelda Inspired Rice Balls

Seven Zelda Inspired Rice Balls on a sheet.

Zelda Inspired Rice Balls

These Zelda Inspired Rice Balls are the third recipe in a short series I devised to celebrate the new Legend of Zelda video game coming out in a few weeks! Like last week, I’ll be running through another great recipe that mimics one of the items you can make in Breath of the Wild as we count down to Nintendo’s newest game! To be clear – This is not an advertisement and I’m not getting paid by Nintendo. I’m just super excited for the game : )

This recipe is my take on the “Seafood Rice Balls” that honestly felt a little useless in-game (no great power-ups lol). I still loved the image enough that I went out of my way to make them a couple of times. The ingredient list here is very simple to pull together – rice, fish, and some seaweed wrappers! The original recipe from the game is a seafood blend but, since we have a shellfish allergy, we kept it to salmon. You’re welcome to add other seafood to the dish. Just keep it to 6 ounces and the ratios should all work nicely.

Seven Zelda Inspired Rice Balls on a sheet.

Our biggest struggle with this dish was making the sticky rice. The key here friends, is using sushi rice to ensure you get the right consistency. We also used a mold to get them picture-perfect, but you can easily roll them like meatballs too. These were so tasty and surprisingly filling (for something so little!). It made for a great side dish and was happy to round out the meal with a light salad, and some frozen dumplings. Taking a total of 20 minutes to put together, these rice balls became a great weeknight dish with little effort! A great meal or pick-me-up before your next boss battle (but maybe not a Water Temple boss)!

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok! Hashtag them #thehappyhaandi. And tag me @thehappyhaandi.

Zelda Inspired Fish Balls (Onigiri)

Japanese style rice balls made with salmon
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 3 people

Equipment

  • 1 Pot (Instant Pot)
  • 1 Mixing Bowl

Ingredients
  

For the Rice Balls (Onigiri):

  • 1 cup Sushi-Style Short Grain Rice
  • 1/2 cups Water
  • 6 oz Canned Salmon
  • Salt, to taste
  • Nori (Dried Seaweed) We cut this into half inch strips for the wrapper

Extras:

  • 1 handful Greens (I like spring onion, parsley, or chives)
  • Furikake
  • 1-2 tsp Sesame Seeds

Instructions
 

For the Rice Balls (Onigiri):

  • First, rinse and drain the rice a couple of times. Drain well and add to the instant pot with 1.5 cups of water.
  • On high pressure, cook the rice for 5 minutes. Allow the rice to release naturally for another 5 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
  • Add the rice to a wide bowl. Fold in the salmon, salt, and extras, if desired.
  • Shape a few tablespoons of rice together and roll or use a rice shaper and place on parchment paper to cool (keeps from sticking to plates).
  • Serve up as an appetizer or a quick snack! For dinner I like adding a salad and some dumplings to round out the meal : )
Keyword furikake, Rice, salmon, seaweed
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