As important as rice is to Japanese cuisine, it should come as no surprise that there are different methods used to cook it. Japanese rice is usually prepared in one of three ways, plain, fried or simmered. While in the West we are quite familiar with plain rice and fried rice, simmered rice is a dish we don’t always hear about. Which is a shame, since it’s very easy to make!
Simmered rice, called takikomi gohan in Japanese, is a Japanese take on a rice pilaf. Preparation involves cooking the rice in a savory broth with a variety of ingredients to create a savory dish full of umami flavor. Five Ingredient Rice, orgomoku gohan in Japanese, is a very popular simmered rice to make, and every household has it’s on combination of ingredients. Since it’s so simple to make, it’s a great dish to make when you want to put in little effort, simple throw everything in the pot and let it cook. This rice is great as leftovers, and substantial enough to be a great meal all on it’s own, which is why many people have it in their bento the next day!
While the five ingredients used can very from household to household, it will usually include some combination of chicken, tofu, fish, bamboo, carrots, burdock, lotus root, konnyaku, mushrooms, fishcake, edamame, soy beans, etc. As you can see, there’s a lot of options, so there’s really no set rule on what to to include. The only requirement is you have to have 5 ingredients, so whatever you’ve got in your kitchen is fair game! Since some of the traditional ingredients are a little hard to come by, I wanted to make mine as easy to make as possible by using ingredients that are easy to get around me. So here’s my take on a Japanese classic!
Recipe – Five Ingredient Rice:
– Prepare your rice like you would preparing regular rice by washing the rice until the water runs clear. Drain the rice well and set aside.
– Place the mushrooms in a small bowl with water and let soak until softened.
– While the mushrooms are soaking prepare your vegetables. Cut each vegetable in half, then cut into thin half moon slices.
– Prepare your cooked chicken by shredding it into chunks. Use a fork to pry the meat apart, and if needed use a knife to cut into smaller pieces.
– Once the mushrooms have softened, squeeze out any excess water and set the liquid aside for later. Cut each mushroom into thin strips.
– Once all your ingredients have been prepared, add the rice, liquid and ingredients to a small pot. Cover and place over high heat. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit another 10 minutes, then stir with a spoon to fluff the rice.
– Once cooked you can serve it as a side or all on it’s own. For added flavor garnish with green onion or shredded nori strips.
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