Rice, for an easy one-pot meal
It always gives me great comfort to know that when I cannot think of what to make for dinner, I can always rely on rice and everything else will eventually fall into place. Many Japanese plan their daily menu this way -- around a bowl of rice. It is not a surprise that gohan, the Japanese word for “rice,” also means “meal.”
One of my favorite dishes that makes rice a satisfying centerpiece is maze-gohan -- a one-pot rice dish made with a variety of seafood, meat and vegetables and cooked in a clay pot called a donabe.
My mother had a special love affair with donabe pots. Whenever we went on excursions, she bought us kamameshi -- donabe bento lunches that you could buy at the train stations throughout Japan. They were single-serving clay pots that contained rice with mixtures of meat, seafood and vegetables that varied from place to place. It was fun to eat the warm rice straight out of the cooking vessel in the moving train.
At the end of the journey, Mother would go around to collect the empty donabe pots, including some that had been left in the train by other passengers. My father always grunted in disapproval, but she couldn’t stand the idea of letting those artisanal pots go to waste. When we got home, Mother reused them to make rice and invited guests who were impressed to be served kamameshi at home. She often scorched the rice at the bottom of the donabe, but that was actually the best part. The chewy crust tasted like a rice cracker.
My grandmother also made rice in a clay donabe pot. During the ginkgo nut season, we would walk to the grounds of the Hachiman shrine in Kamakura and gather the fallen nuts of the 1,000-year-old ginkgo tree. Grandmother believed that ginkgo nuts strengthened your memory.
She combined the nuts with the rice and put the donabe on top of the hot wood-burning stove. Soon, we could hear the water in the donabe hissing and the firewood crackling. The two of us sat by the warm stove while she told me a story or two and the ginkgo nut rice cooked.
The most delightful part was the presentation: Grandmother would set the hot donabe in the middle of the table and lift the heavy lid. Right before my eyes, the hot steam would rise straight up and release a grassy perfume and the bright yellow ginkgo nut rice would appear out of the mist. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The ginkgo nuts tasted slightly bitter, but I always asked for seconds.
use my donabe pot often as well. The other day, I found some gorgeous wild scallops at the fish market. I cooked them with the rice, seasoning it with sake, soy sauce and roasted sesame oil. On a whim, I threw in some goji berries, which not only gave the rice a nice red tint but also enhanced the natural sweetness of the scallops and rice.
Make it spicy
Garnishes and spices -- yakumi in Japanese -- play an important role in most dishes, including rice. They clear the palate and aid in digestion (the Chinese characters for yakumi mean “medicinal flavors”). I spiced up the scallop rice with a pinch of cracked red pepper, shichimi pepper and roasted sesame seeds and garnished it with chopped chives and thin slices of fragrant yuzu.
There is an abundance of mushrooms around, and you can mix and match the varieties. To make three-mushroom rice, kinoko no maze-gohan, you can use maitake, shiitake and shimeji mushrooms, which are always available at Japanese markets, but go see what the mushroom man at the farmers market has to offer and be adventurous. For the yakumi, try sliced shiso leaves, sliced yuzu or lemon rind and sprinkle some finely cut nori seaweed that has a happy confetti-like effect.
You can also mix and match rice varieties. Use white as the base and mix in brown rice to add nutrients, and sweet rice for more texture and shine. Rice with chicken and dandelion greens -- soboro no gohan -- is a popular Japanese rice dish made with ground chicken. You can make it with plain white rice or mix in brown rice. Season the meat with sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and some grated ginger to give it spice. Cook the rice separately from the meat but serve them together in the same bowl. Add chopped dandelions or other greens, such as edible chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku) for a subtle bitter yakumi flavor.
Worth the price
I prefer to cook rice in a double-lidded donabe pot because the double lid acts like a pressure cooker and makes rice that is moist and nutty in texture. These artisanal pots are expensive. But if, like me, you are serious about rice, it’s one of the best kitchen pots you could ever own. You can also use a single-lidded donabe clay pot or an electric rice cooker.
The one that requires the most attention is the single-lidded donabe, which is thinner and lighter than a double-lidded rice cooker. You need to adjust the heat a couple of times during the cooking process to prevent the rice from scorching. When the rice reaches the boiling point, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for an additional 8 to 10 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the pot from the heat and let the rice steam with the lid on for 15 to 20 minutes more. For the electric rice cooker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
o matter which pot you use, what you strive for is a rice grain that is firm, with each kernel separate and nutty. The Japanese describe this ideal characteristic as kome ga tatsu -- “rice that stands.” It is the texture you want with each bite.
It may take a couple of practices to get the rice to cook in a donabe just right. If you scorch the rice a little, don’t worry. You can eat the crust. It’s delicious. Once you get the knack of it, you will enjoy planning menus around rice and making it the centerpiece of your meal, which is where rice likes to be.
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Spicy rice with scallops
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6
Note: Serve the dish with an assortment of cracked peppers, including red, black, shichimi, Sichuan and sansho pepper, as well as roasted sesame seeds and one-half cup chopped chives, daikon sprouts and thinly sliced yuzu rind. Goji berries, kombu (seaweed) and yuzu can be found at Asian markets. The cracked peppers can be found at well-stocked and gourmet markets, cooking stores and spice stores.
1/3 cup sweet rice
2 cups short- or medium-grain rice
1/3 cups water for a double-lid donabe or electric rice cooker, or 2 2/3 cups water for a single-lid donabe
3/4 pound jumbo scallops (about 5 large), cleaned and each broken into 3 or 4 pieces
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu)
2 tablespoons sake
1 (2-inch) square of dried kombu
2 tablespoons goji berries (optional)
Salt to taste
1. In a bowl, soak the sweet rice in water for 2 hours or overnight.
2. Wash the short- or medium-grain rice well in a colander or strainer. Let stand for 15 minutes to drain completely.
3. Drain the sweet rice and place in the donabe pot or electric rice cooker with the rinsed short- or medium-grain rice and the water to soak for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Place the scallops in a strainer and slowly pour the boiling water over the pieces to blanch them slightly. Set aside.
5. Stir the sesame oil, soy sauce and sake into the soaked rice until combined. Top the rice with the kombu, scallops and goji berries.
For a single-lidded donabe, cover with the lid and place on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook until the water comes to a slow boil, about 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and rest, covered, for 20 minutes. Try not to open the lid too often during the cooking process as this releases the steam and disrupts the cooking process.
For a double-lidded donabe, cover with both lids (make sure the inner lid’s ventilation hole is at a 90-degree angle relative to the hole on the outer lid). Place the donabe on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook until the water comes to a boil and steam comes rapidly from the outer ventilation hole. Remove from heat and rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
For an electric rice cooker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, but make sure the rice steams at least 15 minutes with the lid closed. Rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
6. When the rice has rested, remove the lid(s) and discard the kombu. Gently toss the rice, scooping the rice from the bottom up using a paddle or spatula. Season to taste with salt if desired.
7. Serve immediately, sprinkling the garnishes over the rice or serving them on the side.
Each of 6 servings: 284 calories; 13 grams protein; 49 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 2 grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 19 mg. cholesterol; 392 mg. sodium.
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Rice with chicken and dandelion greens
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes plus soaking time for the rice
Servings: 4
Note: The method and ingredients for this recipe vary depending on the cooking vessel you use. Instructions are given for both a single- and double-lidded donabe, as well as an electric rice cooker. Kombu, bonito flakes, shungiku (Japanese spinach), mirin, shiso leaves, kizami nori and pickled ginger are widely available at Asian markets.
3/4 cup brown rice, sprouted brown rice or any whole-grain rice
1 cup short- or medium-grain white rice
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water for a single-lidded donabe, or 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons water if using a double-lidded donabe or electric rice cooker
3 cups washed and loosely packed dandelion, shungiku or spinach leaves
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound ground chicken
1 cup prepared dashi broth (see below)
3 tablespoons soy sauce, more if desired
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet sake)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons grated ginger
Salt, optional
1/2 bunch finely chopped chives or thinly sliced shiso, kizami nori (thin-sliced pressed seaweed),
1/4 cup salted black sesame seeds or roasted sesame seeds and/or 1/2 cup thinly sliced beni shoga or amazu shoga (pickled ginger) for garnish (optional)
1. In a medium bowl, soak the brown rice in enough water to cover for at least 2 hours, up to overnight.
2. Wash the short-grain rice well using a colander or strainer. Set aside for 15 minutes to drain completely.
3. Drain the brown rice and place in the donabe or electric rice cooker with the rinsed short-grain rice and the measured water to soak for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Blanch the dandelion greens just until wilted and bright green, about 30 seconds. Drain well, squeezing out any excess moisture, and finely chop. Set aside.
5. For a single-lidded donabe, cover with the lid and place on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook until the water comes to a slow boil, about 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
For a double-lidded donabe, cover with both lids (make sure the inner lid’s ventilation hole is at a 90-degree angle relative to the hole on the outer lid). Place the donabe on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook until the water comes to a boil and steam comes rapidly from the outer ventilation hole. Remove from heat and rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
For an electric rice cooker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, but make sure the rice steams at least 15 minutes with the lid closed. Rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
6. While the rice is cooking, heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the sesame oil, then the chicken, and fry until the chicken is crumbly and loose, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the dashi, soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar and grated ginger and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.
7. When the rice has rested, remove the lid. Fold in the chopped greens, gently scooping rice from the bottom of the cooker using a paddle or spatula. Season to taste with salt if desired.
8. Mound the rice in a serving bowl and top with the warm chicken. Garnish with the topping(s) of your choice. Serve immediately.
Dashi broth
1. To make the broth, steep 1 (2-inch) piece of kombu (dried seaweed) in 3 cups water over medium heat just until the water comes to a rapid simmer (it must not boil).
2. Remove from heat and discard the kombu; cool the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Stir in 1 cup dried bonito flakes and allow the broth to steep just until the bonito flakes sink to the bottom of the liquid, about 10 minutes.
4. Strain the mixture using a fine-mesh strainer, being careful not to press the liquid from the bonito as this will cloud the broth. This makes 2 1/2 cups broth, more than is needed for the recipe; the remaining broth will keep up to 1 week, refrigerated.
Each serving: 500 calories; 26 grams protein; 67 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 13 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 75 mg. cholesterol; 857 mg. sodium.
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Where to find rice cookers and donabe pots
Electric rice cookers can be found at most appliance stores. Single-lid donabe rice pots can be purchased at any Japanese market, such as Mitsuwa or Marukai, they cost around $30 and up. For the double-lidded pots, you must go to specialty stores or the Internet. Two sources that I like very much are Tortoise General Store in Venice (1208 Abbot Kinney Blvd.; [310] 314-8448) and the website Toiro ( www.toirokitchen.com). Both carry kamado-san donabes, which are made in Iga, Japan, famous for ceramics since the 7th century. They cost about $160.
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-- Sonoko Sakai
