In France, every Japanese restaurant offers sushi, but onigiri are very rarely to be found. Yet, those delicious little filled rice balls are very popular in Japan. Ai Watanabe and her partner Samuel Trifot have decided to make up for this shortfall by becoming the unofficial ambassadors of the specialty in Paris.
The 30-something couple has already done a lot for the cause, offering cooking workshops and opening the Gili-Gili in the Pigalle district in 2018, a tiny one-room restaurant with just a counter and two stools. They even published a book: Onigiri, boules de riz garnies japonaises (“Onigiri: Filled Japanese Rice Balls”).
Tandem cooks and couple in life, Watanabe and Trifot met in Sydney, Australia. Ai, who comes from a dynasty of chefs and rice growers, already had a special relationship with the dish. For his part, Samuel was also familiar with the Japanese specialty. He is a fan of manga (whose characters often gorge on onigiri) and has a habit of preparing rice dumplings during his backpacking trips. “He proposed opening an onigiri restaurant even before he proposed to me,” said Ai with a laugh.
Their eatery, however small, opens up new horizons for curious gourmets, who find a little tasty surprise in every ball: umeboshi (a small dried and salted plum), kombu (edible seaweed) or tuna mayonnaise, now one of the most popular toppings in Japan.
What does onigiri mean in Japanese?
Ai Watanabe: Onigiri comes from the verb “nigiru,” “to grasp.” When shaping a rice ball, the gesture, the hand’s contact with the food, is very important. The Japanese, under the spiritual influence of Shintoism and Buddhism, are convinced that a cook can use their hands to pass on love and feelings through food. It’s often said that the main ingredient in a good onigiri is love. It may sound cliché, but it’s true. Onigiri is the archetypal Japanese soul food. If it’s loaded with good vibes, it fills the eater’s body and mind with energy.
This Japanese snack is said to be thousands of years old. Could you tell us about its history?
A. W.: The oldest trace of onigiri is an almost 2,000-year-old fossil found in the Ishikawa prefecture. At the time, this food could also be an offering to the gods or a protection against bad luck.
Your onigiri are shaped like little pyramids. Is this always the case?
Samuel Trifot: In fact, there are also cubic ones and round ones. Some can be eaten hot or cold and the fillings are very diverse. But there’s one constant: Each onigiri is around 120 calories, or almost half a baguette! It’s important to remember that, in the beginning, this dish was mainly used as a practical way of carrying and storing food for workers on their way to the fields or the forest. You had to be able to get your fill.
Read more Subscribers only Why Japan continues to inspire French chefs What are your most vivid memories of onigiri in Japan?
A. W.: When I was little, I did a lot of activities – piano lessons, swimming, etc. My grandfather would drive me from one place to another. In his car, I would gobble down the onigiri prepared by my grandmother, with eggs or vegetables. You only need one hand to eat them. It’s much easier than using a bento box and chopsticks. At every bump in the road, I’d have spilled half of my meal.
Are there any modern onigiri?
A. W.: Yes. When I was a kid, there wasn’t much choice: just kombu and umeboshi. Nowadays, you can find it with minced steak, [Greek fish roe] tarama, fermented cabbage, you name it!
When do you eat onigiri?
A. W.: Anytime! You can find them in any konbini, those 24-hour grocery stores, for around 120 yen, or €1 each. There are also specialized shops that sell just that. Many gourmets prepare them at home and carry them in lunch boxes. The Japanese are always in a hurry, so onigiri are ideal for snacking in the street, on the train or in a park.
Is it hard to cook?
S. T.: Once you get the hang of it, it’s quick and easy to prepare. We’ve even posted a short tutorial on YouTube that lasts barely a minute! In Kyoto, chef Toshihiro Aomatsu, who has opened a specialized restaurant called Ao Onigiri, shows on social media how he taught his children to make the dish themselves when they were little more than babies!
What are the mistakes to avoid when cooking them?
S. T.: Above all, don’t add soy sauce or use vinegar to season the rice. This can happen with onigiri sold in French supermarkets, no doubt for the sake of preservation.
How did you bring onigiri to France?
S. T.: We work with local and seasonal products. We’ve stopped making the salmon onigiri that our customers used to love. We use horseradish instead of wasabi. Our shiitake [Japanese mushrooms] grow in the underground parking lot of a building at [Paris metro station] Porte de La Chapelle! We have a hard time only with rice. We tried using French-grown rice from Camargue, but it’s simply not as good as Japanese rice. It doesn’t have the same texture nor taste and does not hold together as well.
After five years in business, do you ever tire of making rice balls?
S. T.: It’s tiring but never boring. The possibilities are endless. There’s hardly a liquid ingredient you can’t use as a garnish. During the “Onigiri Action” operation, run as part of a campaign to fight world hunger, we offered a new onigiri recipe every day throughout the month of October!
A. W.: You can’t get enough of giving love. When my parents came to visit us in Paris, I greeted them at the airport with a tray of onigiri!
Gili-Gili, 48, rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Paris 9e arrondissement.
‘A world of street food’