No flags, no giant rings. At the end of each stage of Alex Kidd in Miracle World awaits us an exquisite Onigiri as a reward and that, especially in the final stages of the game, tastes like heaven. Are those rice balls as delicious as in the game? As you can see, good old Alex has not been the only video game character who has succumbed to this delicious Japanese specialty. At VidaExtra we are going to teach you how to prepare them step by step, and the fact that it is such a simple dish to cook makes us like them even more.
Rice balls, Alex Kidd's weak point and other video game icons
![Alex Kidd In Miracle World Dx 2024 06 27 22 28 52](https://i.blogs.es/c3b3db/alex-kidd-in-miracle-world-dx-2024_06_27-22_28_52/450_1000.webp)
Onigiri is part of the iconography of Japanese gastronomy and, by extension, its classic and current video games. No wonder: it is said that its origins are even before the use of chopsticks to eat. However, despite its ingredients and presentation, They are a different dish than sushi, in which the flavor of the fish is given more prominence. That said, you can give more identity to each rice ball by adding a little bit of fish.
Possibly the most iconic onigiris in video games are those of Alex Kidd. Aside from the boss fights, which were decided by a Rock-Paper-Scissors duel, SEGA placed a rice ball at the end of each stage. As an added bonus, in order to localize the game in the United States at the time of the Master System, it was decided to replace that dish with what could be its equivalent for the American public: hamburgers. An example of the popularity and how deeply rooted these rice delicacies are.
Beyond the saga Alex Kiddthe consumption of Onigiri in video games is widespread. The number of appearances is enormous, being able to be seen in action games such as Tenchu, serving as a trap for enemies, to items with which to restore health in countless Beat'em Ups or RPGs such as Genshin Impact. Very special mention to Street Fighter 6, where we can not only buy it but Akuma has a secret taunt in which he takes out a huge Onigiri and, upon finishing it, unlocks no less than three additional Super Arts.
![Akuma Rice](https://i.blogs.es/7030a3/akuma-arroz/450_1000.webp)
![Akuma Rice](https://i.blogs.es/7030a3/akuma-arroz/450_1000.webp)
To what extent can we measure the popularity of Onigiri? To give you an idea, when a talented Spanish team updated Alex Kidd in Miracle World He recovered those delicacies and created new animations. But, in addition, he added a variation to the menus that helps to understand the fascination of the dish by making an analogy to the Spanish one, replacing the rice balls with potato omelette.
And although all the alternatives given and the sushi are exquisite, what Alex Kidd likes the most are his Onigiri. With our recipe, which you will find right below, We hope you like it too.
Ingredients for Alex Kidd's Onigiri
![Onigiri recipe by Alex Kidd](https://i.blogs.es/bd6e4d/receta-onigiri-alex-kidd/450_1000.webp)
![Onigiri Recipe Alex Kidd](https://i.blogs.es/bd6e4d/receta-onigiri-alex-kidd/450_1000.webp)
Difficulty |
Amount |
Preparation time |
Cooking time |
Note |
|
SUSHI RICE |
1 out of 5 |
Equivalent to three cups of rice |
30 minutes |
45 minutes |
It can also be used to prepare sushi, chirashi and other dishes. |
SALMON ONIGIRI |
2 out of 5 |
13 to 16 rice balls |
30 minutes |
20 minutes |
Consume within a week |
How to prepare Salmon Onigiris step by step
Preparation of sushi rice
- Place the rice in a large bowl and fill it with cold water.Now, with your hands, wash it using a circular motion. As you do this, you will see that the water loses its transparency as the rice loses its starch, so strain it and repeat the process until the water is crystal clear.
- Once the rice is completely clean We place it in a rice cooker (we add water depending on this) and let it cook, boiling for about two minutes and then we reduce the heat to minimum for about a quarter of an hour. When the rice is ready, we remove it and place it in a large bowl as long as it is not metal.
- Prepare a small bowl and mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in it. With a trowel (or flat wooden spoon) Add the mixture to the rice while it is still hot. and we mix it until the rice has cooled.
The preparation of Onigiri
- First we prepare the salmon. Place a skillet over medium-high heat. and generously season the salmon. Then we cook it with the skin in the pan until it is crispy, which will be more or less 4 or 5 minutes. We turn it over and repeat the process for the remaining skin, which will take a little less (approximately 2 minutes).
- We remove the salmon from the pan, We remove the skin and cut it into small pieces. We return the salmon, without the skin, to the pan and add the soy sauce, leaving it there until the fish has absorbed the soy sauce, which will be approximately 2 minutes. We remove the salmon and place it on a plate. with the chives.
- We take the rice with wet hands and we mix it with the salmon and chives. The process is very simple: you take a handful of rice of the size you want the Onigiri to be and little by little you give it its characteristic triangular shape from the video game or, if you wish, a more rounded or volume appearance. Just don't press too hard to make it consistent and maintain its shape.
- Finally, we lightly wet the edges of a small piece of nori seaweed and we place it on the bottom, so that it wraps around the base of the onigiri leaving the ends visible so that it looks like the one Alex Kidd likes. If you are not going to serve it right after preparing it, you can wrap each onigiri individually in plastic and store it in the refrigerator. up to a week.
How to serve Onigiri
![Alex Kidd Rice](https://i.blogs.es/eb2c6e/arroz-alex-kidd/450_1000.webp)
![Alex Kidd Rice](https://i.blogs.es/eb2c6e/arroz-alex-kidd/450_1000.webp)
The best way to present onigiri is Place them on a plate and let each diner serve themselves the one they like best.Onigiri are part of a lunch or dinner and usually two, three or even four are eaten per person. Although, of course, it depends on the capacity and hunger of each person.
In Japan, furthermore, They are one of the key parts of the bento, food rations prepared from home to take away and that are usually taken to work or school. In our case, if we are going to offer them to diners and to add variety to the table, It can be accompanied with fish, sushi, umeboshi or vegetables.; although we can also try other starters or small dishes, especially those typical of Japanese cuisine.
Finally, if we have a guest who does not have a special predilection for fish, we can prepare and serve onigiri only with rice and without filling or the vegan alternative with red beans. And not only that: there is an alternative preparation called Yaki Onigiriwith rice only, in which before serving we prepare the Onigiri (without the nori seaweed) on the grill or on the griddle, moistening it with soy sauce, sake and a little sugar. Of course, its color will be different, more toasted, than the one seen in Alex Kidd in Miracle World.