Lawson now sells old rice as 'vintage' onigiri in Japan
There's a severe shortage of rice in Japan at the moment, and the situation is so dire that the government recently released emergency stockpiles to make the everyday staple more widely available. As these are emergency stockpiles, though, the rice isn't freshly harvested — in fact, some would go so far as to call it old, with stocks dating back several years. Still, old rice may be better than no rice at all, and many of the country's convenience stores are now selling it through their branches, both as bags of grain, and, in the case of Lawson, onigiri rice balls.
Two varieties, Salt Onigiri and Dashi Onigiri, have just been released, and both of them are made with emergency stockpiled rice from Japan's 2021 harvest.
▼ Given the dated nature of the rice used, these onigiri are priced at 108 yen (US$0.73) each, which is cheaper than other onigiri at the chain.
It's rare for people in Japan to eat four-year-old rice, let alone buy it in a store, particularly in rice ball form, so we just had to find out what these tasted like.
Starting with the Salt Onigiri, we took a bite and discovered it had a surprising sourness to it.
This had nothing to do with the age of the grains, though, as the list of ingredients revealed that in addition to salt, seasoned rice vinegar had also been used.
▼ Seasoned rice vinegar (調味酢) is the second ingredient on the list, after non-glutinous rice (うるち米) and before salt (食塩).
The balance seemed a little off as the vinegar overpowered the salt, and in terms of texture, the rice felt somewhat dry compared to a typical convenience store onigiri. It wasn't inedible, but if we're being honest, it didn't have the same moist and plump mouthfeel as a regular salt onigiri, and it seemed as if the vinegar had been added in an attempt to add moisture and soften the grains.
Slightly disappointed by the dryness of the rice, we moved on to try the next rice ball, Dashi Onigiri.
Taking a bite, this one revealed a pronounced flavour of dashi stock, making it much more delicious than the Salt Onigiri. Although this one also contains seasoned vinegar, the acidity is barely noticeable as the dashi reigns supreme, making it our preferred choice.
While the dashi provides bagfuls of flavour, there's still no hiding the texture of the rice, which leaves a lot to be desired.
Having previously tried stockpiled rice out of desperation recently, we were actually surprised by how dry these rice balls were. The stockpiled rice we'd purchased, and cooked up in a rice cooker at home, didn't seem all that different to regular rice, but these onigiri were much dryer than expected, making them less enjoyable than non-old-rice onigiri.
According to Lawson, the chain plans to sell approximately 7 million of these by the end of August, by which time they'll no longer be available. According to us, they'll do in a pinch, especially if you're on a tight budget, but if flavour and texture are higher on your list of priorities, you might want to give these particular convenience store finds a miss.
After all, there are plenty of other new releases to spend your money on, like sparkling sake in a can and Lawson's new fried chicken, which gives other convenience store chains a run for their money.
Photos © SoraNews24
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By SoraNews24 There are certain staples that each of the major convenience store chains in Japan is sure to carry. Onigiri are almost a certain bet, and nikuman steamed meat buns have more recently become available everywhere and all year round. You'll probably even find a melon pan in each store if they aren't already sold out. Another convenience store sure thing is fried chicken. Back in the day, each store had its own unique style of chicken, but more recently, they have all adopted a breaded fried filet, similar to Family Mart's mega-hit Fami Chiki. If we took a poll, it seems very likely that Fami Chiki would still reign supreme, but Lawson's L-Chiki and 7-Eleven's Nana Chiki both have offerings worth trying. And now, Lawson is upping their game with a new item called Manmaru Chicken for 248 yen. The name 'Manmaru' suggests a chicken filet that's both plump and filling, so our writer K. Masami headed out to her nearest Lawson to try one the day it was released on July 29. Despite the big fried chicken launch, the store wasn't nearly as crowded as she expected. Also, when she went to the fried chicken cabinet, there weren't any Manmaru Chicken there. There was a price tag for it, however. When she asked the staff about it, they seemed surprised and replied, 'Oh, it comes out today! Do you want us to fry some up?' She had clearly come during a slow period, so they were probably planning on cooking it when more people would be around. It was nice of them to fry some just for her, and she felt her loyalty for this Lawson branch grow stronger. She even bought two since she appreciated the gesture so much. Though not in the spirit of her newfound loyalty, she also stopped by a FamilyMart and 7-Eleven to buy a Fami Chiki for 240 yen and Nana Chiki for 223 yen from them too. After all, this was for science. ▼ From the bottom clockwise: Manmaru Chiki (Lawson), Nana Chiki (7-Eleven), Fami Chiki (FamilyMart) Masami was impressed with the size of the Manmaru Chicken compared to the others. After slicing one open, she could see that the trick was rolling the meat up to make it look more three-dimensional. The other big difference was that this chicken was more lightly battered than others, by about 10 percent. ▼ Manmaru Chiki Those were some very wise decisions by Lawson, and they paid off not only in presentation but taste as well. When she bit into it, juices filled her mouth, and the light seasoning and batter both helped to emphasize the strong meat flavor. Next, she tried the Nana Chiki from 7-Eleven. It had a bold salt and pepper flavor, and the meat had more fatty parts in it than the others. The new Manmaru Chicken had a milder flavor and was more filling, but Nana Chiki might be a good pick-me-up when tired. ▼ Nana Chiki And then Masami tried the Fami Chiki, and there were no surprises here, but it was interesting to taste all these chickens back to back. Clearly, Lawson and 7-Eleven weren't trying to just clone a Fami Chiki and hoped to create their own hits. All of the chickens had their own blend of spices in the coating, showing each store's intention to carve its own path. ▼ Fami Chiki Masami found that the Manmaru was strangely the most filling and yet also the lightest to eat. They all have their own set of charms though, so it's best to try each one and see which is best for you personally. ▼ For a sense of scale, here are the measurements for the Manmaru Chiki Meanwhile, they all have one thing in common: They taste great with beer or cola. A journalist friend of hers once said that convenience store chicken and a beer are her lifesavers after a shift. They were totally right too, because at the end of the day, when she's too tired to cook, convenience store chicken and beer felt like they had saved her life. And with these sweltering nights where it can be difficult to eat heavy foods, Manmaru Chicken from Lawson can really hit the spot. Photos © SoraNews24 Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Chiki taste test! Japan's big three convenience stores challenged by fried chicken field newcomer -- Does Japan's new low-calorie convenience store fried chicken have any reason to exist?【Taste test】 -- Ramen-covered fried chicken is coming to Japanese convenience stores, and we're totally ready External Link © SoraNews24
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2 days ago
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Lawson now sells old rice as 'vintage' onigiri in Japan
Emergency stockpiles are jazzed up as 'vintage', but are they more of a miss than a hit? There's a severe shortage of rice in Japan at the moment, and the situation is so dire that the government recently released emergency stockpiles to make the everyday staple more widely available. As these are emergency stockpiles, though, the rice isn't freshly harvested — in fact, some would go so far as to call it old, with stocks dating back several years. Still, old rice may be better than no rice at all, and many of the country's convenience stores are now selling it through their branches, both as bags of grain, and, in the case of Lawson, onigiri rice balls. Two varieties, Salt Onigiri and Dashi Onigiri, have just been released, and both of them are made with emergency stockpiled rice from Japan's 2021 harvest. ▼ Given the dated nature of the rice used, these onigiri are priced at 108 yen (US$0.73) each, which is cheaper than other onigiri at the chain. It's rare for people in Japan to eat four-year-old rice, let alone buy it in a store, particularly in rice ball form, so we just had to find out what these tasted like. Starting with the Salt Onigiri, we took a bite and discovered it had a surprising sourness to it. This had nothing to do with the age of the grains, though, as the list of ingredients revealed that in addition to salt, seasoned rice vinegar had also been used. ▼ Seasoned rice vinegar (調味酢) is the second ingredient on the list, after non-glutinous rice (うるち米) and before salt (食塩). The balance seemed a little off as the vinegar overpowered the salt, and in terms of texture, the rice felt somewhat dry compared to a typical convenience store onigiri. It wasn't inedible, but if we're being honest, it didn't have the same moist and plump mouthfeel as a regular salt onigiri, and it seemed as if the vinegar had been added in an attempt to add moisture and soften the grains. Slightly disappointed by the dryness of the rice, we moved on to try the next rice ball, Dashi Onigiri. Taking a bite, this one revealed a pronounced flavour of dashi stock, making it much more delicious than the Salt Onigiri. Although this one also contains seasoned vinegar, the acidity is barely noticeable as the dashi reigns supreme, making it our preferred choice. While the dashi provides bagfuls of flavour, there's still no hiding the texture of the rice, which leaves a lot to be desired. Having previously tried stockpiled rice out of desperation recently, we were actually surprised by how dry these rice balls were. The stockpiled rice we'd purchased, and cooked up in a rice cooker at home, didn't seem all that different to regular rice, but these onigiri were much dryer than expected, making them less enjoyable than non-old-rice onigiri. According to Lawson, the chain plans to sell approximately 7 million of these by the end of August, by which time they'll no longer be available. According to us, they'll do in a pinch, especially if you're on a tight budget, but if flavour and texture are higher on your list of priorities, you might want to give these particular convenience store finds a miss. After all, there are plenty of other new releases to spend your money on, like sparkling sake in a can and Lawson's new fried chicken, which gives other convenience store chains a run for their money. Photos © SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
