Often when I have people over, rather than having food completely finished and ready to eat, I prefer to set out a DIY situation where customization is part of the fun. If you have different groups of friends coming together, DIY food prep is a wonderful ice breaker as those who are confident cooks lend a hand to those who may not be. I’ve chosen two foods that are fun to make and very satisfying to eat: onigiri (also called musubi or rice balls) and rice paper-based spring rolls. Assign friends to bring a few dips and nibbles to get the evening going while you work on your dinner. You’ll want to set up distinct work areas in your kitchen or dining room for each activity.
Onigiri
I’ve learned so much from Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. She describes onigiri as “Japanese rice balls made of steamed rice that you compress into a triangular, ball, or cylinder shape, and are usually wrapped in a nori seaweed sheet. You can flavor them lightly with just salt or add a variety of fillings.”
Use cooked Japanese rice still warm to the touch, ready to mold. If you have a rice cooker, that's ideal. You can get small ones for as little as $20. That’s what I have.
Fillings: Most traditional fillings are quite simple, but you can get as complicated as you like. You can buy many of the traditional fillings at Japanese grocery stores. Ingredients like salted salmon can be flecked through the rice before molding. A simple mixture of tuna and Kewpie mayo is stuffed in the middle. Umeboshi or salted plum is a lovely finish and is usually tucked inside the rice ball. But any curried meat or vegetable mixture is great too, as is mentaiko or spicy cod roe. And if you’re a spam aficionado, it’s a classic.
Shaping: Buy a couple of molds at the Japanese grocery store. They’re inexpensive and will make things easier for your guests. Don’t squish the grains too hard. It should be firm on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Finish off with sprinkles of furikake or a few bonito flakes.
Spring rolls
Rice paper-wrapped spring rolls are a good group activity.
Andrea Nguyen is the perfect tutor for learning how to make spring rolls, the transparent rice paper packages of crunchy and savory ingredients ready for dipping. The only tricky part is moistening the rice paper. They come in packages and when dry seem plastic-like. You have to give them a dunk in warm water to make them pliant, but too long in the water and they fall apart. If you like gadgets, this rice paper caddy makes the process much easier. Here are some suggestions on how to put together your spring roll buffet.
Fillings: Consider cooked and chilled medium-size shrimp, cooked shredded chicken breast, lemongrass pork, carrot julienne, cucumber matchsticks, cooked asparagus, finely shredded cabbage, washed and dried red leaf lettuce (rib removed), cilantro, mint, garlic chives, cooked thin rice noodles. Get creative.
No spring roll party would be complete without dips. I recommend peanut sauce and nuoc cham, the spicy-sweet lime juice mixture deepened with fish sauce.