Who doesn't love a change-up? So many times in our house it is white rice for dinner. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Especially when our table is topped with a variety of dishes that call out for a simple rice that can go with any food. However, sometimes I get the urge for some variety in our rice pot. Takikomigohan is quick and can often be made with whatever leftover bits of vegetables are in the house. The rice is still washed and made the same. The only difference is that some vegetables are put in the rice pot at the end, and a bit of soy sauce, sake, and mirin are included with the water for steaming.
And the rewards are lovely. Mushrooms cooked with the rice bring a nice earthiness to the dish. The soy, sake, and mirin season the rice lightly. The following recipe from Chef Nonaga is the best I have found for cooking rice.
Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga's rice recipe.
Takikomigohan
2 cups of rice
150 - 200 grams of chopped Japanese fresh mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, shimeji, etc.)
1 Tbsp. each of soy sauce, mirin, sake
pinch of salt
Wash the rice as normal and put into rice pot. Top with mushrooms. The amount of liquid to add to the pot is as usual, just substitute in 1 Tbsp each of the soy sauce, mirin, and sake for some of the water. Add a pinch of salt to the pot and cook as usual.
Garnish with mitsuba or toasted sesame seeds (optional).
Feel free to add other ingredients like carrots, abura age (deep-fried tofu), or konnyaku. Chicken can also be added, just be sure to cut into bite-size pieces first. If adding seafood like fish (salmon), be sure to cook the fish first, ideally grilled.
Other takikomigohan recipes:
Scallops Takikomigohan
Salmon and Ikura Takikomigohan
Clean the Fridge Takikomigohan
