Lily Krass Ritter
Max Ritter
Ski Snacks is a fun, easy-to-use cookbook that celebrates life among the mountains as a ski-bum. Designed for easy preparation and portability, every recipe uses fresh ingredients that provide plenty of energy for long days. With helpful sidebars from nutritionists and recipes labeled by difficulty, every skier and snowboarder can chase those powder days without worrying about what to eat on the slopes.
Enjoy a recipe from Ski Snacks!
ONIGIRI, THREE WAYS
A pilgrimage to Japan is essential for any powder-loving skier. And while the dreamy powder skiing certainly delivers, it’s the food that makes a ski trip to Japan one to remember. If you’ve talked to anyone who’s skied in Japan, you’ve likely heard about the impressive selection of high-quality snacks you’ll find at 7-Eleven (a locale you couldn’t pay us to eat at in the US), including a variety of onigiri. Each day, we ate no fewer than five of these delicious rice balls stuffed with fish, veggies, or meat and wrapped with nori. We snacked on onigiri on chairlifts, summits, and bullet train rides back to Tokyo.
Making these by hand is very doable, but it’s even easier with an onigiri mold (easy to find online). Ours is a little triangular onigiri mold we picked up in Tokyo. If you make them by hand, be sure to keep your hands wet to prevent the rice from sticking to your fingers. Like all rice-based treats, these are best eaten fairly fresh. Make them in small batches and eat within a day or two. If you’re really craving some extra salt in the mountains, pack a little grocery-store packet of soy sauce to pour on them.
Onigiri prepped and ready to go. Photo by Lily Krass Ritter and Max Ritter.
Makes 6 to 8 onigiri
FOR THE BASE
1 cup sushi or Calrose rice
1 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 10-by-10-inch nori sheet, cut into 1-inch strips
CLASSIC TUNA MAYO
2 (5-ounce) cans tuna in olive oil
1/2 cup Kewpie mayo
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Togarashi spice, for topping
MISO VEGGIE
6 tablespoons miso paste
4 tablespoons water
3/4 cup finely chopped raw veggies of choice (green onion, carrots, or even kale!)
Sesame seeds, for topping
BBQ BEEF
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 pound ground beef
Togarashi spice, for topping
Onigiri can be customized however you see fit. Photo by Lily Krass Ritter and Max Ritter.
DIRECTIONS
To prepare the rice, rinse the rice in a strainer under cold running water for 1 minute. Let air dry for 8 to 10 minutes.
Combine the rice and water in a large saucepan and set over high heat.
Bring to a boil, then immediately turn down heat and simmer. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the rice is soft. (Alternatively, combine the rice with 1 1/4 cups water in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot and cook using normal settings for white rice.)
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, and salt to make seasoning.
Pour seasoning over rice. Mix well.
Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before shaping.
Meanwhile, prepare your chosen filling (instructions follow).
With wet hands, form rice balls that are 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Make a well in the center of each rice ball and fill it with 2 tablespoons of filling, then close up the rice around the filling.
Wrap each rice ball with 1 strip of nori and sprinkle with togarashi or sesame seeds.
CLASSIC TUNA MAYO
Combine the tuna, mayo, and salt in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
MISO VEGGIE
Stir the miso paste and water together in a small bowl.
Toss the veggies into the bowl and coat with miso.
BBQ BEEF
Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl.
Put the ground beef in a medium bowl and pour the marinade over the top.
Place in the fridge for 10 - 15 minutes.
Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and toss in the marinated beef. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the beef from the skillet and let cool on plate.
Ski Snacks is available for purchase now at The Mountaineers Bookstore and anywhere books are sold.
This article originally appeared in our 2026: Issue 1 of Mountaineer magazine. To view the original article in magazine form and read more stories from our publication, visit our magazine archive.
