Ever since I visited Japan two years ago, onigiri, small balls of rice wrapped in nori and stuffed with various fillings, have become one of my favorite go-to snacks. Fun to make, endlessly customizable and easy to transport, onigiri make for a perfect summer dish.

These onigiri showcase what’s ripe in the Bay Area markets now: creamy, potassium-rich avocados, paired with rich, omega-3-rich salmon. The nori seaweed that these are wrapped in is full of minerals and fiber, so this dish couldn’t be any healthier.

Onigiri (which are also popular in Hawaii as musubi and Korea as jumeok bap) can be challenging to wrap at first, but with a little practice, it’s very easy. Plus, onigiri can be wrapped in a myriad of shapes, so go with what feels right.

Ingredients:

2 cups sushi rice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large avocado, halved and thinly sliced
4 ounces sliced lox or nova salmon
4 teaspoons furikake (Japanese sesame seed and seaweed seasoning; can be found at many Asian grocery stores)
4 sheets toasted nori, cut lengthwise in half

1. Bring rice and 3 1/4 cups water to a boil, covered, then simmer 20 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rimmed baking sheet and toss gently with salt.

2. Moisten your hands with water and divide rice into 10 balls. Set 1 ball on a piece of plastic wrap, pinch off half, and flatten remaining rice into a small round. Layer with avocado, salmon, and about 1/2 teaspoon furikake, leaving 1/2-inch border around filling. Top with rest of rice and use plastic wrap to help you form a blunt triangle about 1 inch thick. Repeat with remaining rice and fillings.

3. Position base of 1 rice triangle facing you. Center 1 nori half-sheet over rice, angling it diagonally from left bottom corner. Tuck ends around triangle, shaping as you go along to enfold the rice. Serve room temperature.

Luckily, mentaiko sauce is ridiculously easy to make at home, if you have access to the right ingredients. During a recent visit to Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley, I picked up a couple frozen sacs of mentaiko (these are usually marinated in salt, kombu, sake, and chili peppers and you can find them at well-stocked Japanese grocers) so I could try making this east-meets-west spaghetti at home.

Okay, I admit, the final product still isn’t all that healthy, but at least it’s made of whole ingredients. You could substitute some of the butter or mayonnaise with olive oil, but the final taste will be a little different.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (preferably Kewpie brand)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 sacs of mentaiko
1/2 tablespoon ao nori seaweed

1. Cook the pasta al dente in a pot of salted boiling water. Drain, reserving half a cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Open the mentaiko sacs with a knife and scrape the roe from the membrane with a spoon. Discard the membrane and add the roe to the bowl with the butter, mayonnaise, and soy sauce; mix well.

3. In a bowl, toss the mentaiko sauce with the pasta, adding a bit of the reserved cooking liquid if needed. Garnish with ao nori and serve.

It couldn’t be any easier to make. Paired with rice and miso soup on the side, it makes a healthy, comforting and best of all, delicious meal.

Ingredients:

2 fillets basa or yellowtail
1 1/2 tablespoons sake
3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons mirin

1. Soak the fish in 1 tablespoon of the sake and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce for 10 minutes. Wipe off the moisture.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan to medium-high and fry the fillets. When one side is browned (about 3 minutes), turn over, cover the pan, and fry the other side over low heat.

3. Combine the sugar, mirin, and remaining soy sauce in a bowl. Add the mixture to the frying pan and simmer while coating the fish with the sauce thoroughly. Serve warm.

These seafood summer rolls pack a bunch with a chili-garlic spiked aioli and the crunchy, vinagared vegetables balance out the mayonnaise perfectly. If you take the time to prep your mise en place ahead of time here, putting these rolls together is a snap.

Ingredients:
1 (3-inch-long) piece daikon radish, peeled and julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Persian cucumber, halved and julienned
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
1 ounce tobiko roe
3 teaspoons soy sauce
10 round rice-paper wrappers
1 pound crabmeat, picked over and coarsely flaked
1 green onion, thinly sliced diagonally

1. Combine one tablespoon of lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, toss carrot, daikon, and cucumber with vinegar, sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, and salt to taste.

2. In another bowl, mix chili-garlic sauce with mayonnaise and half of the tobiko and set aside.

3. Stir together the remaining lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl.

4. Soak 1 rice paper wrappers in a baking dish of warm water until pliable, about 5 seconds. Put 1 soaked wrapper on a dry cutting board. Put one tablespoon of crabmeat across lower third of wrapper (nearest you), leaving a 2-inch border at bottom. Spread with 1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise-tobiko mixture and top with a few pieces of the carrot mixture and sliced scallion. Fold bottom of wrapper over filling and roll up tightly. Repeat with remaining filling ingredients and rice paper wrappers.

5. Cut each roll into 2 pieces. Arrange on a platter, standing them up, and top each with a dollop of tobiko. Drizzle lime-soy sauce around rolls.

Chawan mushi literally translates as “tea cup steam” or “steamed in a tea bowl,” and I use a set of ceramic antique teacups to cook these in. Alternatively, you can use small ceramic ramekins. It can be eaten hot or cold; I prefer it warm.

Ingredients:

3 cups cold water
1 8-by 4-inch piece kombu (dried kelp)
1 package katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), about 1/2 cup
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons mirin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 small fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 medium shrimp, peeled
1 green onion, thinly sliced

1. Bring cold water and kombu to a boil in a saucepan, then remove from heat and discard kombu. Sprinkle katsuobushi over liquid and let stand 3 minutes. Pour through a sieve and strain into a bowl.

2. Whisk together eggs in a bowl, then whisk in mirin, soy sauce, salt, and 1 1/2 cups dashi.

3. Divide sliced mushrooms, shrimp and green onions among ramekins. Divide egg mixture among ramekins and cover each ramekin with a piece of foil.

4. Arrange ramekins on rack of a steamer and add enough water to steamer to measure 1 1/2 inches. Cover steamer and bring to boil over high heat. Steam 2 minutes, reduce heat to medium and continue to steam until custards are just set, about 10 minutes more. Serve in ramekins.