Zosui is a comforting Japanese rice soup that works beautifully with pantry-ready ingredients like ready-cooked rice, eggs, and leftover ingredients. The easy template is flexible, yet you’re guaranteed a nourishing meal at the end of the day.

Substitutions: Use fish (salmon, cod), tofu, or other protein if you don’t have chicken. No shiitake mushrooms? Don’t worry, any mushrooms are fine, or just skip them. This is a very flexible recipe. I think non-Japanese rice works for this recipe (I never tried it but Jasmine rice or any long-grain rice is ok!)

Variations:

Okayu (Japanese Rice Porridge) – You can serve anything you like with this plain rice porridge.
Ochazuke – Use canned salmon to replace fresh salmon if needed.

Eggs, ham, sushi rice, and nori sheet. That’s all you need to make this yummy Spam Onigirazu. I used a special mold to create a perfect shape for the rice sandwich, but you really don’t need one. Follow my diagram and tips in making onigirazu here.

Substitutions: You’ll need to use Japanese short-grain rice for the sticky texture, but feel free to keep the filling simple. You can use only the ham or eggs to make a quick lunch if that’s all you have.

Variations:

Ginger Pork Onigirazu – Make extra Ginger Pork for the onigirazu next day!
Teriyaki Salmon Onigirazu – Make extra Teriyaki Salmon for the onigirazu next day!
Bulgogi Onigirazu – Make extra Bulgogi for the onigirazu next day!