I was making onigiri and I started my rice too soon by accident, so I didn’t have time to run to a store and grab fillings. Instead I ransacked my fridge and created a crime.
Honeyed goat cheese, garlic chives brie, and a cucumber salad were my fillings.
It was… Food.
Proper cookers keep it out of the mold temp. The problem is if you let it cool over night.
I’ve seen temps as low as 140 kill mold. The popular Japanese brand cooker is supposed to keep warm at 150 and above, as long as the lid is closed it should be good until it dries out
And we were always eating it. My cousins and I could go through 2-3 pots a day just putting snacks on it like spicy canned tuna or whatever was laying around, taco meat, cinnamon and sugar… whatever. We called them hand balls (instead of hand rolls). Quick to make and quick to eat. Leftover steak chunks with a dash of soy or hoisin was my favorite but my giant cousin would shoulder check me for that one.
I just keep a stack of seaweed next to the cooker. it makes everything a real rice ball.
Kids these days are so lucky with their fried buldak nori rectangles. In the US (1990’s) all we had was unseasoned 8.5x11 inch sheets of office paper nori from the one Asian store that viewed expiration dates as more of a suggestion.
Too much trouble for what it was. We were trying to get back to BB gun wars in the front yard. I still have scars.
Thanks for letting me wax nostalgic. This has been a fun walk for me.