Crispy Rice Sushi/ Onigiri

In the US there is currently a trend popularized by the upscale restaurant Nobu of taking sushi rice forming it into small cakes or patties and then either sauteeing or deep frying until the outside becomes crisp and golden brown. The rice cake/ patty is then topped with different ingredients … most commonly avocado and maguro tuna. It has an interesting texture between crispy rice on the outside and chewier on the inside combined with the creaminess of the avocado and silky smooth texture of the Maguro. I think a similar thing can also be done with onigiri. Is this something that also exists in Japan or is it just an American bastardization? If you have it what is it called/ where can it be found?

Some restaurants offer yaki-onigiri, which is flame grilled onigiri.

Yaki-onigiri typically has no toppings. This sounds more similar to the recent "yaki-onigiri cha-zuke" in which you pour toppings and soup on a grilled onigiri. It's like the traditional yaki-onigiri and traditional cha-zuke in one. It would probably very different from that American sushi treat you describe, but texture-wise it's the closest I can think of.

Apart from that, there always has been a Chinese traditional dish which we in Japan call "o-koge". It's dried and hard-fried rice topped with mushy vege and meat.

And then there is ライスバーガー with whatever filling that tickle your taste bud.

Thanks, the rice bun burger is probably closest to what I am describing, although what I am describing is much more elegant. I think it is only served at Nobu, but since Nobu is a popular restaurant for celebrities there have been a lot of imitations done on instagram. If you are curious you can search on YouTube for “Nobu Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna”. I have never been to Nobu, but I tried making a similar dish. I also think the crispy rice burger would be very popular in the US although I prefer the standard bun. Maybe 10 years ago there was a very popular burger in the US called the Ramen Burger. It was sold at this pop up food market in Brooklyn and people would wait on line for hours to get one. I never tried that either, but basically the inventor figured out a way to make soba noodles (think yakisoba) to hold a bun shape. I think he cooked the noodles and then froze the cooked noodles in a bun shaped mold and then took the frozen noodles and grilled it?? Sounds crazy and stupid, but that is the United States for you. The Yaki onigiri looks good and I might try it with the dashi if I come across it.