Easy Japanese Dishes Pt. 2 - Japanese Mixed Rice (Takikomi Gohan)
This Japanese mixed rice dish was inspired by a recipe posted on TabiEats. I had to make several changes since I didn't have either the burdock root or any of the mushrooms they used. I transcribed the instructions from the video and rewrote them to make reproducing the recipe as simple as possible.
Japanese Mixed Rice (Takikomi Gohan) - serves 2
1 cup uncooked Japanese rice, washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
1 cup cold water
Rice Seasonings
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sake
1 tsp instant dashi powder
Rice add-ins/Toppings
1 1/2 inch piece carrot, cut into thin planks and halved
2 large white mushrooms, cleaned, cut in half and sliced thinly
1 large broccoli florette, cut into smaller pieces
nametake, to taste (I used about 2 tbsp, see recipe below)
40-80 gm firm tofu, drained and cubed
Other options for toppings
40 gm boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
40 gm beef, thinly sliced
canned tuna, drained
konnyaku/konjac, sliced and cubed
bamboo shoots, sliced and julienned
water chestnuts, sliced and jullienned
peas, edamame or french beans
sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
In a medium sized sauce pan, add the washed, drained rice and the soy sauce, sake and instant dashi powder. Stir well.
Top the rice with vegetables and other toppings. Do not stir.
Bring the water to a boil, cover turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2 min. Turn the heat down to low and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Turn the heat off, remove the pan from the heat and let the rice and veggies steam for another 5-10 minutes. With a sushi rice paddle or large spoon fold to mix the toppings into the rice.
Serve with a piece of grilled fish, a bowl of soup and some pickled vegetables. Make onigiri with leftover mixed rice.
Nametake is a condiment of cooked, seasoned enoki mushrooms. It may be added to soups, rice or noodles as a topping. There are more elaborate recipes or preparations for making your own, but the one below is fast and tasty.
Nametake - makes about 1 cup
7 oz/200 gm enoki mushroom, cleaned
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
Preparation of the enoki mushrooms
Trim off the brown 'root' end of the package of enoki mushrooms. There's about an inch/an inch and a quarter of edible mushroom between the trimmed off portion and the white stalk portion of the enoki mushrooms that may be cut off and reserved, as it's still edible. I'll show you what you can do with it in the next post on this theme.
Cut the enoki mushrooms in two lengthwise, about 2 inches long (note: I forgot to do this but didn't find it was an issue) and break up into smaller pieces. Rinse if needed and drain well.
Add the mushrooms to a saucepan along with the soy sauce and mirin. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the mushrooms have picked up some of the colour of the soy sauce.
Transfer to a small jar and refrigerate. Use within a week or two.
Japanese Mixed Rice (Takikomi Gohan) - serves 2
1 cup uncooked Japanese rice, washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
1 cup cold water
Rice Seasonings
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sake
1 tsp instant dashi powder
Rice add-ins/Toppings
1 1/2 inch piece carrot, cut into thin planks and halved
2 large white mushrooms, cleaned, cut in half and sliced thinly
1 large broccoli florette, cut into smaller pieces
nametake, to taste (I used about 2 tbsp, see recipe below)
40-80 gm firm tofu, drained and cubed
Other options for toppings
40 gm boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
40 gm beef, thinly sliced
canned tuna, drained
konnyaku/konjac, sliced and cubed
bamboo shoots, sliced and julienned
water chestnuts, sliced and jullienned
peas, edamame or french beans
sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
In a medium sized sauce pan, add the washed, drained rice and the soy sauce, sake and instant dashi powder. Stir well.
Top the rice with vegetables and other toppings. Do not stir.
Bring the water to a boil, cover turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2 min. Turn the heat down to low and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Turn the heat off, remove the pan from the heat and let the rice and veggies steam for another 5-10 minutes. With a sushi rice paddle or large spoon fold to mix the toppings into the rice.
Serve with a piece of grilled fish, a bowl of soup and some pickled vegetables. Make onigiri with leftover mixed rice.
Nametake is a condiment of cooked, seasoned enoki mushrooms. It may be added to soups, rice or noodles as a topping. There are more elaborate recipes or preparations for making your own, but the one below is fast and tasty.
Nametake - makes about 1 cup
7 oz/200 gm enoki mushroom, cleaned
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
Preparation of the enoki mushrooms
Trim off the brown 'root' end of the package of enoki mushrooms. There's about an inch/an inch and a quarter of edible mushroom between the trimmed off portion and the white stalk portion of the enoki mushrooms that may be cut off and reserved, as it's still edible. I'll show you what you can do with it in the next post on this theme.
Cut the enoki mushrooms in two lengthwise, about 2 inches long (note: I forgot to do this but didn't find it was an issue) and break up into smaller pieces. Rinse if needed and drain well.
Add the mushrooms to a saucepan along with the soy sauce and mirin. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the mushrooms have picked up some of the colour of the soy sauce.
Transfer to a small jar and refrigerate. Use within a week or two.