A plain ass rice ball wouldn't have been very good, tbw. For most, onigiri is only good when it's stuffed with something and furikaki is used. However, the fact that he was able to make onigiri without noticing the rice problems means he either can't cook worth a shit (we know this to be false), or this was just a poor plot setup by the author (yep, the issue def lies here). Originally, the rice seeds would've been small and after cooking would've been dry. Making onigiri would've been impossible because the rice wouldn't have been sticky... at all.The problems would've been apparent from the husking stage; technically, he should've noticed the tiny seeds from the get-go. Yet, he didn't notice problems with the seed size, the extra difficulty in husking, and the extreme dryness of the rice, AND he was able to make an onigiri out it? Nah, lis, this is just poor plot setup. The author didn't this through well enough.