Kayaku Gohan

Name: Kayaku Gohan
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups short-grain rice; 1/2 cup ground meat or diced chicken, optional; 2 tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil, if you’re using meat; Salt and black pepper to taste; 1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded (or reserved for stock), caps sliced; 1 small carrot, finely diced; 1/4 cup chopped canned bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, or celery; 1/4 pound fried tofu (aburage) or firm tofu, well pressed, (page 491), cut into chunks or strips; 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 3 tablespoons mirin or honey; 2 1/2 cups Dashi or chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 162 or 160), or water

December 14, 2011

This popular one-pot dish can be made with meat or vegetables and, like most casseroles, is easily varied. There are, of course, similar dishes throughout East Asia (and throughout this chapter), but this one is made distinctively Japanese by the addition of mirin and even more so if you use dashi for the cooking stock—a terrific touch. Aburage—fried tofu—is available, precooked, at Japanese markets; it’s slightly sweet.

Recipe notes

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