Japanese rice doesn't have to be a sidekick dish - mixed with flavourings and vegetables, it can be a one pot show stopper all by itself - the Japanese call this dish "takikomi gohan", (literally, steamed mixed rice). The rice is steamed in a broth of soy sauce, cooking sake and mirin under a bed of vegetables. I've used chicken and mushroom in this recipe but you can use other vegetables and/or exclude the meat component. Takikomi gohan is delicious eaten hot or cold for lunch the next day - it's also great for making onigiri (rice balls). You may have heard of another Japanese mixed rice dish called "maze gohan" (mixed rice) - if you're wondering what the difference is, maze gohan involves cooking and preparing sushi rice and then mixing in vegetables - I'll be doing a maze gohan recipe for you soon. Coming back to this dish, you can watch the "how to" video by clicking Takikomi Gohan or scroll to the bottom of the page. you can see the recipe just below.
Takikomi Gohan
ingredients:
(makes 2 servings)
3 cups Japanese rice
150g chicken breast
50g enoki mushrooms*
50g enrigi mushrooms*
50g shimeji mushrooms*
100g carrots
1 sheet abura-age
70g frozen green peas
250ml water
1.5 tbsps japanese cooking wine
2.5 tbsps soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant dashi granules
0.5 tsp salt
2 tbsps cooking oil
* you can use only one type of mushroom if you prefer
how to:
rinse the aburaage in hot water, cut into quarters and shred
remove the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into small pieces
peel the carrot, slice and shred
dice the chicken into small pieces
rinse the rice 4-5 times under running water and drain in a sieve (you want the rice to absorb as much flavour as it can)
put 2 tbsps of oil in a pan and fry the chicken for 1 min
add the other veg (except the peas) and stir fry for 2 mins
add the water, stock granules, cooking wine, mirin, sugar, salt & soy sauce
bring to the boil and simmer for 18 mins or until the water has reduced by half
cook the peas in boiling water for 3 mins and drain
place the rice in your rice cooker, strain the liquid from the vegetables and add it to the rice (top up the liquid to the level for cooking 3 cups of rice)
add the veg (but don’t stir it) then cook the rice as usual
when the rice is ready, add the peas and stir everything together
serve garnished with a little shredded nori
happy cooking! kurumi XXXX.