(in Japanese cuisine) a small oval block of cold rice topped with wasabi and a thin slice of fish, prawn, etc, and sometimes held together by a thin band of seaweed
Word origin
from Japanese, literally: grasp, as the rice is shaped by hand
Examples of 'nigiri' in a sentence
nigiri
Repeat the wrapping and squeezing steps to form a neat, compact piece of nigiri.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Not that there's anything bad about the sushi rolls, sushi nigiri, sashimi, etc, etc.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The shrimp are now served in a nigiri style, or as sashimi.
Chicago Sun-Times (2010)
Three pieces of nigiri: salmon, shrimp, yellowtail.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Four pieces of tuna nigiri sushi, while not actively bad, were huge.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Our first task is to make nigiri sushi - rice topped with sashimi.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Sounds strange, but salmon nigiri and avocado and cucumber rolls offer a welcome change from traditional heavy sandwiches.
The Sun (2013)
Good, two scallop nigiri then.
Times, Sunday Times (2018)
And the eel nigiri were wan and flabby: no bounce in the rice, no life in the snake flesh.