Recipe

Rice

2 cups short-grain Japanese rice (such as Koshihikari)
Water (for soaking and cooking)
Salted water (for shaping)

Scrambled Egg & Pumpkin Seed Filling

2 eggs
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
2–3 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Cream Cheese Filling (Variation)

Cream cheese, cut into 1 cm cubes
Bonito flakes
Soy sauce

Omusubi may seem simple, but it requires a certain touch. The rice must be cooked well - fluffy, yet firm enough to hold together when shaped by hand.

Omusubi is Japanese soul food - packed for school picnics and lunches.

In Japan, every convenience store and supermarket offer dozens of varieties of omusubi, each with different fillings.

寒の水すみちぎるまで. 米濯ぐ

In the icy water, rinse the rice, until the water runs clear.

I found this haiku written by Terujo, Kaoru’s maternal grandmother, a poet. It captures a winter morning - someone is rinsing rice in cold water until it turns clear, perhaps for family members about to leave the house to start their day. On mornings when Kaoru leaves for a tour, I remember this poem as I shape the omusubi.

Kaoru was born into a Japanese family of Western classical musicians, but raised in St. Louis, immersed in skateboarding and American culture. Still, he says the taste of the omusubi his mother occasionally made lingers in him. At 22, he moved to Japan and joined Kodo, touring across Japan as a performer. During those years, convenience store omusubi became essential. Load-ins, load-outs, rehearsals, soundchecks, long bus rides - there was often little time to sit down and eat. Omusubi, quick to eat and deeply sustaining, became something like a treasure. His favorite used to be salmon and wakame.

Now, whenever Kaoru travels for tours or concerts, he always brings omusubi. Recently, his favorite fillings have been scrambled eggs mixed with toasted pumpkin seeds and (in his case, lactose-free) cream cheese, coated with soy sauce and bonito flakes, both original creations of mine. Wrapping the entire surface in nori—making what we call an “all-black omusubi” - keeps them intact and easy to eat.

*Kaoru directing the Bloodlines Interwoven band at the 2026 Big Ears Festival 2026.*

Cooking Instructions

Rinse the rice (short-grain Japanese rice, such as Koshihikari) in cold water until it runs clear. Let it soak for 30 minutes.

Place it in a donabe (earthenware pot), adding water to about 1 cm above the surface of the rice. Start on high heat; once it comes to a boil, reduce to low and cook for 15 minutes. Then let it steam, covered, for another 15 minutes.

Scoop the freshly cooked rice lightly into a bowl and gather it gently.

Wash your hands well, moisten them with a bit of salted water, and shape the rice softly. Be careful not to press too hard, or the omusubi will become dense.

For the scrambled eggs, cook eggs with a pinch of salt and sugar in a pan without oil, stirring constantly until they become fine and crumbly. Toast the pumpkin seeds until fragrant. Mix both into the rice and shape into omusubi.

For another variation, cut cream cheese into 1 cm cubes, coat with bonito flakes and soy sauce, and place it in the center as filling before shaping.

KAORU WATANABE’S OMUSUBI

MARIKA HUGHES’ VODKA GIMLET