Baked Mushroom-Sesame Rice Balls

Name: Baked Mushroom-Sesame Rice Balls
Yield: 4 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice; Salt; Boiling water, as needed; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the pans; 8 ounces fresh shiitake or button mushrooms, chopped; Black pepper; 1 cup sesame seeds or finely chopped nuts, plus more as needed; Soy sauce, for passing at the table

By Mark Bittman

November 17, 2010

This spin on onigiri, Japanese sticky white rice balls, combines the earthiness of brown rice and mushrooms with the crunch of a sesame seed crust. The key is cooking the rice until it releases all of its starch, then chilling it in the fridge so you can easily roll it into balls before baking.

If you have any sheets of nori (seaweed) lying around, you can cut them into strips and wrap them around the rice balls before or after baking.

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