A simple recipe for onigiri, or Japanese rice balls, with salted plums

By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Onigiri is a ball of rice with something inside, similar to how a sandwich is two slices of bread with something in between. And in the same way just about every American has made and eaten a sandwich, so too have most Japanese eaten onigiri. Here are the basics. Wet your hands with salted water. Pick up a handful of cooked rice. Put umeboshi — salted Japanese plums — on top. Pick up another scoop of rice with your other hand and place it on top of the rice and umeboshi. Cup your hands together, squishing gently. Turn a few times in your hands so the rice becomes a triangular ball. Wrap with nori, which is dried seaweed, or enjoy plain.