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–+ servings

Takikomi Gohan (Japanese Seasoned Rice with Chicken)

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Soaking Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Pour 300 g uncooked Japanese rice into a bowl and fill it with water. Swish, drain and repeat 3 times to wash it. (It's okay if the water is still cloudy.)
    washing rice in a steel bowl
  • After the final soak, fill the bowl with fresh water until the rice is covered and soak for 1 hour.
    soaking rice in water in a steel bowl
  • At the same time, drop 2 dried shiitake mushrooms and 3 g dried kelp (kombu) into 300 ml cold water and soak them for one hour. This makes a shiitake and kombu dashi.
    soaking dried shiitake mushrooms and kombu in a bowl of water
  • After one hour, drain the rice with a sieve and place it over an empty bowl to dry until it's time to cook.
    drying rice in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl
  • Remove the shiitake mushroom and kombu from the bowl, the liquid inside is a light dashi that we will use to cook the rice later. Finely slice the rehydrated shiitake mushroom and discard the kombu. (Alternatively, you can use the kombu to make kombu tsukudani rice ball filling.)
    rehydrated shiitake mushrooms cut into strips
  • Peel the skin off of 150 g boneless chicken thigh and cut it into bite-size pieces. Cut the meat into small pieces and set aside.
    chicken thigh meat and skin cut into small bitesize pieces on a wooden chopping board
  • Heat a small frying pan on medium and once hot, add ½ tsp cooking oil and the chicken skin. Place a lid on to prevent the fat from splashing and fry on both sides until crispy and golden, then rest on kitchen paper and set aside for later.
    frying chicken skin in a frying pan with lid
  • Reuse the pan, and wipe out the excess rendered fat if needed. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer and sear all over.
    frying chicken thigh in a frying pan
  • When the chicken is no longer pink, add the sliced shiitake mushrooms along with ½ carrot, ½ thumb ginger root, and 3 small sheets fried tofu pouch (aburaage). Stir fry for about 1 minute so the ingredients are lightly coated in rendered chicken fat. You do not need to cook them completely as they will cook with the rice later.
    chicken, fried tofu pouch, ginger and carrot frying in a frying pan
  • Transfer the dried rice to a pot (or rice cooker) and pour in the dashi. Empty the contents of the frying pan on top of the rice.
    Finally, pour 3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 2 tbsp mirin and 2 tbsp sake and ¼ tsp dashi granules into the pot. IMPORTANT: Do not mix! If using a rice cooker, close the lid and set it on a takikomi or regular setting. If using a pot on the stove, see next step.
    rice, dashi, meat and vegetables in a pot
  • Place the pot onto the stove with the lid on and bring it to a boil over a medium heat. Listen carefully and try to refrain from removing the lid. Once you can hear it continuously bubbling, set a timer for 2 minutes.
    After two minutes, reduce the heat to medium low and set a timer for 3 minutes. Turn the heat right down to the lowest setting and set a timer for 5 minutes. Blast the heat for 10 seconds on the highest setting, and then turn it off. Leave the rice pot on the warm stove and allow to steam for 20 minutes.
    cooking chicken takikomi gohan in a pot with a lid
    • Never remove the lid while cooking Japanese rice. Doing so will let too much steam escape, and mess up the temperature and liquid ratio resulting in undercooked rice.
  • After 20 minutes of steaming, remove the lid and mix the rice thoroughly using a cut and fold motion with a rice paddle. Be careful not to crush the rice while mixing.
    mixed chicken takikomi gohan in a pot
  • Divide into serving bowls and sprinkle with the crispy chicken skin from earlier and finely chopped green onions. Enjoy!
    chicken takikomi gohan in a black rice bowl topped with chopped green onion

Notes

Soak in plain water, then drain well: The rice has to absorb water to its core during a full hour, with nothing seasoned in the bowl. If you skip the soak or the drain, the center cooks up hard while the outside goes soft.
Add the soy, mirin, and sake last, and never stir: Seasonings poured in early raise the pressure around each grain and stop it absorbing water. Stirring kills the gentle circulation that cooks evenly. Layer everything on top, then run the heat.
Count every liquid, including what the vegetables release: Your total liquid is the dashi plus the soy, mirin, and sake, plus the moisture the carrot and mushrooms give off. Treat it as one pour or the bottom turns soggy.
Fill the pot only half to two-thirds full: A pot crammed to the brim throws off the heat and circulation, and a rice cooker that full can misread its sensor, leaving a hard core. For a crowd, run 2 smaller batches.
Takikomi Gohan freezes well: It's perfect for meal prep. Wrap in individual portions, and don't pack too tightly. Microwave from frozen to reheat.