Mildly spicy, good flavour, but small

Maraniku Miso

Brand: 7-11

Price: 178 yen

Place of purchase: 7-11 convenience store

Rating:

This summer at 7-11 convenience stores, you'll see a revolving lineup of bento box lunches and onigiri emblazoned with red labels. Look closer at the campaign - 真夏グルメ - manatsu gourmet. The Korean cuisine-inspired items have little red hot peppers on the labels. The spiciness levels vary and there are caution notes! I went for the 1 1/2 pepper item, Maraniku Miso. It's an onigiri stuffed with pork, negi, onions, wood ear, and shiitake mushrooms. It's not fiery, flavoured with Sichuan peppercorns and red peppers.

Maraniku Miso has complex and umami flavours. It's pretty good and worth trying once. It's priced a little higher at 178 yen as it's a novelty with a lot of stuffing. The variety in this onigiri is appealing with two kinds of mushrooms, stir-fried pork with the lightly spicy savoury sauce. But it felt a little light and looks smaller than standard rice balls. Could I make this at home for the same price or lower? I think I could do stir-fried pork or chicken with a decent miso sauce and mushrooms for a better price. And pump up the spiciness.