This is a simple one pot meal that is quick and easy to prepare. It is made with Japanese short-grained rice (sushi rice) flavoured with chicken broth and sake, which gives it a hint of sweetness. I added diced chicken, mushrooms, frozen mixed vegetables and broccoli to the dish as the kids just love their rice-with-chicken-and-broccoli in almost any form.
Japanese Rice with Chicken (Tori Gohan)
Ingredients
2 rice cups (360ml) short-grained sushi rice
~2 1/2 cups chicken stock (or enough to come up to the '2' mark in the rice cooker)
200g chicken thigh/drumstick fillet, diced into cubes
2-3 dried mushrooms, soaked in hot water, stems discarded and caps sliced thinly
1 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
Pinch of salt
Diced vegetables of your choice
Chopped spring onions for garnish
Method
Marinate chicken with mirin and 2 tbsp light soy sauce.
Wash the rice and rinse several times until water is clear. Drain and place in the rice cooker with chicken stock, marinated chicken, sake, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, mushrooms, diced vegetables and a pinch of salt. If using broccoli, add it into the pot 15 minutes before the rice is cooked. Do this quickly without letting too much steam escape from the pot. When cooked, mix well and serve with miso soup. Garnish with spring onions.
To prepare a simple miso soup: Add instant dashi to boiling water, add miso paste (to taste) using a sieve until dissolved. Simmer. Add salt to taste followed by diced cubes of silken tofu. Serve in bowls and garnish with seaweed and spring onions.
