Rice Scooters, I first came across these tasty little snacks at the downtown Palo Alto farmer’s market.* Made by Sprogs, they may be small in size but they’re mighty in flavor.
Freshly made from Northern California brown rice, they’re hand-pressed slabs of rice with a variety of ingredients. Similar to o-nigiri but with more modern flavors. With meatie, veggie and sweetie options, there’s something for everyone. Plus, all of the veggie ones are vegan! Bonus points for that, and a couple of the sweeties are vegan as well.
Pictured above is the Kale & Kimchee which is my favorite. I like the spicy flavor the kimchee adds. The Shiitake pictured below is a close second, you can’t go wrong with mushroom umami. The other two veggie flavors are Coconut Red Lentil and Roasted Corn & Poblano, both good in their own way.
Vegan sweetie flavors are PB & Berries and Sunflower Butter & Berries. Just like a pb and j sandwich but with rice, although I prefer my rice to be savory rather than sweet.
Normally, I don’t like to eat cold rice, but these rice scooters are different. The rice stays soft even when chilled so they’re fine to toss from the fridge into a bag and let it come to room temperature for on-the-go eating. They can also be warmed up which I’ve haven’t tried.
It may seem a bit pricey at $2.59 each for a block of rice. But I figured it’s no different than paying $4.99 for a simple avocado roll from the supermarket take-out sushi counter. Plus the scooters are much more portable. And tastier. I’ll be packing a few for the trip to Grandma’s house next week.
* I haven’t seen Sprogs at the farmer’s market lately. But they’re available in select San Francisco stores, see their website for a current list or order online.
I’ve never seen such innovative rice balls before! I’ll have to hunt them down when I return to the bay area… Not much longer now. Can’t wait to taste these.
OMG, these are wayyyyyyyy tooo cute! They remind me of stuffed sticky rice dumplings wrapped in leaves or nori, but they are definitely o-nigiri-like! The Kale & Kimchee looks absolutely tasty…I love tons of mushroom unami! I prefer savory rice rather than sweet, too! How big are they? Please come to Oregon, Sprogs, I will devour everything you have! :)
Hannah – I imagine they would be quite handy if you happen to get the munchies during class. :-)
rika – I actually measured them but lost the scrap of paper that had the measurements. They’re not that big, about 2 1/2 inch tall or so.
These are quite unique! Never heard of them before. Sometimes I want a savoury snack that aren’t chips, so these would be handy. I think I’d like the kale and kimchi flavour too! Just made homemade kimchi for the first time the other day. I been indulging so much on it that I had heartburn! lol
I love onigiri (particularly seaweed ones), so I have a more than sneaking feeling that I would quite easily fancy one of these. I’m drawn to anything with kimchi in like you wouldn’t believe.
Lovlie – They’re not crunchy like chips but they certainly fit the bill when you’re feeling like a savory snack.
Joey – The kale kimchi is a popular flavor. :-)
Hi there!
I’m the founder/owner of Sprogs and I was so delighted to see this post! Thanks a bunch for chatting us up. I’d love to share a discount code with all your pals.
Please use CHOWVEGAN to get 10% off all orders and delivery fees through January 31st on http://www.sprogsfresh.com
Thanks again and happy, healthy holidays!
Hey just had this snack over the weekend and searched on the web to get more info and saw this article. I agree the Kale plus Kimchee combo is one of the better ones. Teriyaki chicken and Shiitake flavors ones are a close second.
Oh man, I love these things. Glad you got to try them, they’re such a great savory snack. :-)