Tag Archives: rice

Making Miso Onigiri (Riceballs)

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Onigiri are the original Japanese fast food.  An onigiri is simply a rice ball.  Like bread to westerners, onigiri is the go to food on the move.  Its portable, easy to make, and contains plenty of calories.  Today there are a lot of different types of onigiri in different shapes and sizes.  Here’s a deliciously easy version that will take you a step or two past plain rice.  Its also something you can make with the left over miso after making some miso soup.  DON’T try making these with straight miso from the tub.  You’ll be sorry (I was).

Ingredients

  • Boiled Rice (follow rice cooker or stove top instructions or check out this post on curry rice.)
  • 3/5 packet dashi ie 3grams (a traditional Japanese seasoning made of seaweed and dried bonito.  It comes in packets.  You’ll probably want the 5g size.)
  • 2 tsp garlic
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp finely diced onion (optional)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 small can tuna in oil
  • 4 tbsp light miso (a fermented soy bean paste)
  • 1 strip nori (optional seaweed)
  • salt

Recipe

Cook rice as directed by your rice cooker or following the instructions on the bag.  Generally 1 cup of rice makes 2 onigiri.  For the video I used 2 cups of rice (slightly less rice, two full cups water), but had left over miso mix.

While the rice is boiling, add tuna to a small fry pan on medium to low heat.  add onions and mix of dashi, pepper, and garlic.  Stir together until combined.  Add miso. Lower heat to low and add soy sauce.  Mix occasionally, ensuring it doesn’t burn.  After about 7 minutes of cooking (when parts of the miso mix start to stick) remove from heat and place in a bowl to cool.

When the rice is finished, place it into a container to cool until you can touch it without burning yourself.  Prepare a bowl of salt water.  If you haven’t already, ensure your hands are clean.  ”Wash” them again in the salt water.  This keeps the rice from sticking to your hands and seasons the onigiri at the same time.  Place a small portion of rice in your hand, then flatten it and place a teaspoon of miso mix in the center.  Cover with another portion of rice.  If the rice sticks to your hands, add a little water to your palms, but don’t over wet it or it will fall apart.  Use light pressure and rotate the rice ball to form the traditional triangle.  cup one hand to form the point, while the other manages the width.  Don’t squeeze to hard, but exert enough pressure to form the rice together.

Optionally, you can add a bit of dried seaweed, nori, to the outside of the onigiri.  Nori adds flavor and is a convenient wrapper to help keep sticky rice off the consumer’s hands.  Generally you should only add nori if the rice ball will be eaten soon or it will become soggy.  You can wrap the onigiri in plastic wrap for later use.

Note: The limiting factor in the recipe is the can of tuna. You can probably make quite a few (at least a dozen) onigiri from just one batch of miso mix, but I didn’t test it.

Chahan Recipe – Okinawan Fried Rice

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This version of Chahan is an Okinawan take on fried rice. Like many Okinawan dishes it is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine. Modern Chahan also often has an American influence in the addition of spam as a low-cost protein. Below is a yet quick take on this Okinawan favorite. If you feel up to the challenge, try my Advanced Chahan recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3 servings cooked white rice
  • 1 piman (green pepper)
  • 1 tamanegi (onion)
  • 1 package frozen vegetables
  • 2 large eggs
  • 170g meat (sausage, pork, chicken, spam, whatever)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or no-stick cooking spray

Seasoning

  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 2 tsp hachimitsu (honey)
  • 1 pkt dashi (5g)
  • 1 tbsp powdered or minced garlic
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sake (cooking, mirin, awamori, nihonshu, etc)

Directions

Wash 3 cups of white rice. Cook white rice per your rice cooker’s instructions, or on the stove. Tip: Add a little more rice vs water than you would for slightly drier rice. Its common to let rice soak for 10-20 minutes before steaming as well, but since you’ll be frying the rice later, you can skip that step.

Prep meat and vegetables by dicing finely. Mix seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and set aside (This amount of seasoning will yield a mild and subtle flavor. For a stronger punch add more dashi or top with bonito.) Using frozen vegetables makes this recipe a bit less gourmet but a lot easier. Feel free to substitute 300g of any other vegetable.

Add oil to a large non-stick skillet and set to medium heat before the rice is finished cooking (about 8-9 minutes). Saute meat and vegetables until the frozen vegetables are thawed. Add eggs and mix until eggs are cooked through. Reduce heat. Add cooked rice and mix well. Add seasoning and stir until everything is combined together well. Cook until everything is about the same consistency but not dry. Serve.

Optional: Chahan is often garnished with green onion or benito flakes. The benito flakes will dance in the steam off the rice. You can use any type of meat. In this instance I uses some sausage I had available. In Okinawa, the most common is spam.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Share your pictures or experiences in the comments below, like, tweet, or consider subscribing for more great things from Japan!

 

Mochi

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It’s the New Year, and in Japan that means its time for mochi!   Mochi is a Japanese treat made from pounded rice.  While mochi is now eaten throughout the year, it’s a favorite for the New Year’s season.  It’s generally served as a stuffed dumpling with fillings varying by region, taste, and tradition.  On the left is a sweet bean filled mochi served on a getto leaf.

How to Make Mochi

Mochi starts out as cooked (steamed) white rice.   Small batches can be made by a variety of methods, but I’ll go over what I saw on New Years Day at the local shrine.

A hollowed segment of tree trunk is used to contain the rice after its cooked.  The convenient round bowl-shape  holds up to the hard wood mallets used to smash the rice into the sticky concoction that is mochi.  

Mochi Bowl1.  Prep the bowl and mallets by cleaning them well, then soak them in hot water.   You’ll want a large tub of drinkable hot water handy both to keep the mallets wet, and to add along the way.  For the bowl simply rub ample amounts of hot water all over so its wet, but remove any standing water.   You’ll also want to prep a work table to make the individual mochi dumplings.  Here you might want to tape down clear plastic.  Prepare your fillings.  Simple fruit (strawberries or oranges), chocolate, or sweet beans work well, but you can experiment.  You’ll also need rice flour (it’s very fine).  Use the flour to dust your plastic and a tray for transporting the mochi, it will keep the mochi from sticking.  There is a brown powder that can be used for the same purpose, but that provides a slightly different flavor and dryer texture.

2.  Put the cooked rice into the bowl.  Use the large mallets to slowly mash the rice until it forms a single bunch.  **You can do mochi as one batch or several small ones depending on the size of your bowl and the number of people.  The smaller the batch the faster it will become the consistently smooth texture you’re looking for.

**Now for the fun part.  Add some hot water to the rice and fold it a few times by hand.  Get two friends (or do it by yourself,,, not as much fun) to swing the large mallets into the center of the rice one  at a time.  Speed isn’t necessary.  Let them pound away for a few turns, then add more water and fold the rice again.  You might want to dip the mallets back in the water while folding as well.  Continue until it has a uniform smooth texture (about 4-5 times).

3.  Using a rice-flour-dusted tray, transport the finished mochi to your work table.  Your mallets should go back in the hot water.  If you are finished, pour hot water into the bowl.  This will make cleaning easier than if you wait.  Dust your hands with flour (after cleaning them of course) and pull off a bit of the mochi.  You worked hard, try some.  Pull some more off then flatten it out.  Put a bit of your filling in the center, close the mochi around the filling and seal by pinching. Dust the outside with rice flour and roll it into a deliciously edible ball.  Serve and enjoy.

More on Mochi

In Japan, a lot of events have their origins in times when most villager’s diets consisted of very simple food.  A long time ago, when rice was used as a currency, most Japanese only got to eat rice on special occasions.  A condensed rice treat then, would have more calories, and be even more special.  Eating mochi on new years “to ensure health in the new year” was almost literal.  It was like a version of ancient Japanese powerbar.  One Japanese story, Momotaro, tells of the young peach boy offering rice based treats to ensure help in a quest.  Such legends show how the traditions came to be.

Mochi takes time, energy, and to really do it right, community.  All of these things tie into most Japanese celebrations.  The act of creating and eating mochi brings people together for a shared experience, while also acting as an offering for the town’s, family’s, or individual’s ancestors.

Update:  The brown powder you may notice on some mochi is called kinako - its soybean flour.  Its a little less sweet than the rice flour but serves the same purpose, keeping the mochi from sticking to everything.

Yes.  These are the mochi you’re looking for.

 

Ovens

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OvenJust as stoves are different in Japan, compared to those in America, so too are ovens.  Many of the reasons are the same, but Japan’s history plays its role here too.  Japanese ovens are usually small electric affairs rather than built-in behemoths.  As with many Japanese appliances, ovens are packed with features.  Mine steams, microwaves, grills, and has several oven settings all in one compact box.  The size fits with the smaller kitchens and lack of space in some Japanese houses.  Since space is at a premium, electronics companies have innovated to bring what would likely be several devices in an American kitchen into one device for Japan.

Japanese Food

Aside from space requirements, why can most Japanese people get away with a smaller oven, if they even have one at all?  It’s because Japanese cooking is so different from that of the west.  Japanese food requires far less baking than we see in western cooking. As an island nation, Japan has always had limited space.  Its mountainous terrain further limited areas suitable for agriculture.  Conversely, much of Japan has ample rainfall making it easier to irrigate fields for water hungry plants.  As it has done throughout history, Japan learned of rice cultivation from China, and then adopted it for itself.  Rice cultivation turned the Japanese from nomads to village dwellers, and eventually into an Empire.  Rice became such a stable of the Japanese diet that for much of the history of Japan it was currency, wages, and life.

Rice required no stone ovens, simply an open flame and a pot.  Other grains were grown, but they were mostly for animals and the poor.   When not eaten mixed with rice, they became noodles or at most were fried as tempura.  Nearly all Japanese cooking could be made over the simple fires available.  Though much has changed, Japanese food still retains its ancient characteristics, and its dependence on rice.  While it is hard to define a cuisine, its hard to think of a proper Japanese meal without a bowl of rice, or at least noodle. So if the majority of food that is cooked in Japanese kitchens still does not require an oven, why would even the affluent give over such a large portion of their limited kitchen space and budget to a contraption they might only use occasionally?  They wouldn’t, and they don’t.

Rice Cookers

RicecookerWhere Ovens are the center of an American kitchen, with ever newer features such as convection cooking and self-cleaning settings, Japanese companies are ever striving to differentiate their rice cookers with features and quality.  If you go into a Japanese store, often one whole area will be devoted to just rice cookers.  They range in size, price, and features but they all make great rice.  They can even be used to bake cakes and other foods since they are essentially small pressurized ovens, with a single removable pan .  In some ways they can even cook better than ovens since they are designed to heat evenly over the entire metal insert.

Portable, relatively automatic, and essential to cooking the main ingredient in many Japanese dishes, the Rice cooker is probably one of the top three most common Japanese appliances.

A Few More Things Japanese

Just because rice is so ‘Japanese’ doesn’t mean other western foods aren’t consumed in copious amounts in Japan.  Instead of making bread or cookies at home, Japanese people are more likely to simply buy them, or find a more Japanese way of cooking them.  Also, portions tend to be smaller, as do families, so smaller Japanese ovens still get the job done.

Another hold over from historic Japan still shows through to today.  Without refrigerators, and with much of Japan being hot and humid, food would not last long.  Shopping was done almost daily for the food that would be consumed that day (or it was taken from the garden) so less was cooked and there were fewer leftovers to be reheated.  This tradition still carries on today, where Japanese shoppers are more likely to shop for less more often, have smaller refrigerators (again space is limited) and thus cook less than their American counterparts.

Japanese culture, and the way kitchens are used also have their roles to play in what and how food is made.  The difference in cultures lead to unique requirements and features that reflect the way we live.

Eggplant and Goya Taco Rice

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Taco Rice is a staple of Okinawan cuisine.  A Japanese take on a Mexican or Spanish Taco it is generally served with taco meat over rice with cheese and occasionally some garnish.  This dish, like many Okinawan foods is simple in that it is mostly protein and carbs.  Unfortunately, it leaves much to be desired for vitamins etc.  My take on Taco Rice includes four vegetables to give it more of a kick. Hope you like it.

Ingredients

  • 400g (about 1lb) ground beef
  • 1 piman (Japanese green pepper)
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1/2 large eggplant
  • 1 small goya
  • Taco seasoning (dry packet)
  • Prepared White Rice
  • 1 can refried beans
  • Cheese
  • Taco Sauce

Recipe

Prepare the rice, generally 1/2 to 1 cup per person.  The taco mix will make enough for 2-3 hungry people, or enough for leftovers.  In Japan it is important to wash your rice before using it.  After measuring out your cup(s) (using a rice ‘cup’ will be just less than a western ‘cup’) of rice, rinse them in a strainer until the water runs clear.  Add the rice to your rice cooker (follow stove stop directions if you do not have one) pot.  Add 1 full ‘western’ cup of water for every 1 ‘rice cup’.  Let the rice sit for at least 20 minutes.  Start your rice (usually the big red button) and you should have perfect white rice in 30-60 minutes, depending on the amount and your cooker.

Next, prepare your vegetables.  Note, I only used 4, but carrots, or other favorites would do just as well.  Dice the piman, onion and eggplant.  Prepare the goya as seen in the Goya Chanpuru post, then dice it as well.

Brown your ground beef (tofu can be substituted for a vegetarian option) in a Large fry pan, once browned, drain the oil.  Add the diced vegetables and return the pan to the heat.  Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Follow the instructions for your Taco Seasoning.

While that simmers, take a bowl and add the canned refried beans.  Add cheese and 2-3 table spoons of taco seasoning.  Mix and microwave until warm.

On a plate add the rice when finished, then bean mix , and finished meat and vegetables.  Sprinkle with more cheese.  You can add lettuce, tomatoes, or any other garnish you might like.  Enjoy!