Karikari-koume rice balls カリカリ小梅のおにぎり

I made small crunchy salted green plums or "karikari-koume" カリカリ小梅 with the fruit we retrieved from the fruit ladened branch of the plum tree that broke in a recent thunderstorm. The recipe I followed stated, it takes several weeks' rest in the refrigerator before the salted plums can be enjoyed. Indeed, it did taste bitter when I tasted it few days after I moved the plums to a jar and placed them in the refrigerator. After a few weeks in the fridge, however, I tasted it again and the bitter aftertaste was gone. In the episode of "Midnight diner" 深夜食堂 featuring "karikari-koume", the last dish the master served was the salted plum rice balls. So, inspired by that episode, I made karikari-koume rice balls.

First, cut off the plum meat from the stone using a knife (below).

Add it to warm cooked rice.

Sprinkle roasted white sesame on top and mix well.

Make a small triangular rice ball and attach a small rectangle of the seasoned "nori" seaweed as seen below for taste as well as to provide the place you can hold the rice ball with your hand.

We had this with refrigerator-dried grilled salmon. The salted plum gave both salty and plummy flavors and a nice crunchy texture. We really liked these rice balls.