Mar 8, 20203 min read

A healthy running snack - Lukes Ultramarathon Onigiri

Updated: Nov 10, 2020

Hello everyone!

I have been mulling over my nutrition since getting back into my ultra training, and I thought that some of these recipes could help you all out. This snack is high calorie, easily palatable and delicious. It has been my perfect partner on many ultra marathons and long distance trail runs. (I also eat them any other time cause they taste so damn good).

Firstly, what is Onigiri?

‘a Japanese dish consisting of small balls or triangles of rice stuffed with a pickled or salted filling, and typically wrapped in dried seaweed.’

Sounds simple, and is very simple to make, but the high-calorie content, subtle flavours and ease of carrying and eating on the run make these an essential part of my ultra-running go-to foods.

Ingredients

1. Sushi Rice

2. Coconut Sugar

3. Coconut Milk

4. Rice Vinegar

5. Miso Soup Powder

6. Raisins/sultanas

We steer away from the traditional rice balls, in that I don’t want seaweed to be a part of it and generally wrap in foil for freshness and weight reduction as I run.

The Process

Half cook the sushi rice.

You can use white or brown sushi rice, but brown requires typically 30 mins of soaking before you can start cooking it (I’m impatient, so usually go for white).

Once you have half-cooked the rice, you pour away all the excess water and add the coconut milk. I often make quite a batch of them, so I use the whole tin. I am not putting measurements in as I never cook using an exact measure. I like to go with my gut.

You then allow the rice to simmer until the rice has completely absorbed the coconut milk.

Now the boring, but essential bit. Let the rice cool. If you don’t, all your rice balls will fall apart. I generally leave it for about 30 mins, but occasionally 45, depending on the size of the batch I am making.

While you wait, grab the Miso and pour the powder into a small glass, adding a splash of rice vinegar and four teaspoons of coconut sugar. Finally, I add water. Just about enough to fill a quarter of the glass, and mix it up so that the sugar dissolves.

Once the rice has cooled, I throw in as many raisins as I fancy (you can use chocolate chips if you want a sweeter alternative) and start to grab small bundles of the rice mix and squeeze them into balls, placing each one on foil or baking parchment.

Once you've made them all, use a pastry brush to cover the Onigiri in your Miso mix. Be generous. When all your Miso is gone, just shove the tray in the oven for 30 mins then allow to cool once more. Once cold, store in the fridge ready for run or race day! YUMMY!

These little Onigiris contain a tonne of calories and are very palatable, which is super important when you are on your 30th mile of running in the heat with a protesting tummy. These have been a real marvel for me; even when my stomach has had enough of the constant bounding trails, these seem to always go down well. They give me the much-needed energy boost when my body feels like its about to hit that runners wall.