Kuri Okowa Sekihan Glutinous Rice Seasonal Preparations

Ingredients

• For the sekihan
• 360 ml mochigome (glutinous rice), soaked overnight in cold water, drained
• 80 g azuki, picked over, rinsed
• 600 ml water, for simmering the azuki; reserve the coloured cooking liquid
• 1 tsp goma-shio (black sesame and salt mixture), to finish
• For the kuri okowa
• 360 ml mochigome (glutinous rice), soaked overnight in cold water, drained
• 200 g kuri (fresh chestnuts), peeled of both outer shell and astringent inner skin; cut into quarters or halves
• 1 tsp soy sauce, light soy preferred
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. 1
   SEKIHAN — First azuki boil: place the azuki in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, and drain immediately. Discard this first water. This initial boil removes bitter compounds from the beans.
2. 2
   Second azuki cook: return the drained azuki to the pan with 600 ml fresh water. Bring to a gentle simmer over moderate heat — do not allow a rolling boil, which splits the skins. Cook until the beans are just yielding but hold their shape completely. A bean pressed between two fingers should give without collapsing. Drain, reserving all the pigment-rich cooking liquid. The liquid should be a deep reddish-brown; the beans whole and unbroken.
3. 3
   Combine the drained, soaked mochigome with enough reserved azuki cooking liquid to cover by 1 cm. Allow to soak for at least 30 minutes so the rice absorbs colour evenly, then drain. The grains should be an even, deep crimson before steaming begins. This is where the dish lives or dies: rice that has not soaked overnight in water, or that takes insufficient colour from the azuki liquid, will steam hard and pale — the two failures that render sekihan unfit for celebration.
4. 4
   Set a steamer basket lined with a dampened cotton cloth over vigorously boiling water. Spread the coloured mochigome in an even layer; scatter the cooked azuki over the surface. Fold the cloth edges loosely over the rice, cover the steamer, and steam over sustained high heat. The rice is done when the grains are fully translucent, uniformly glossy, and adhere to one another while still retaining individual form — tasting a grain, it should be chewy and tender with no hard, starchy centre.
5. 5
   Turn the sekihan into a wooden or lacquer bowl. Serve warm, in small portions. Finish each serving with a pinch of goma-shio at the table; the sesame's nutty fragrance lifts immediately on contact with the warm rice.
6. 6
   KURI OKOWA — Ensure the chestnuts are fully peeled of the outer shell and the entire astringent inner skin; any residual inner skin carries bitter tannins. Cut the peeled chestnuts into quarters or large halves — large pieces are essential for visual and textural presence in the finished dish.
7. 7
   Line a steamer basket with a dampened cloth. Combine the drained, soaked mochigome with salt and soy sauce; toss briefly. Spread in an even layer and nestle the chestnut pieces throughout. Steam over sustained high heat, covered, until the rice grains are fully translucent and tender and the chestnuts are cooked through — a skewer should pass through a chestnut piece without resistance. The chestnuts must retain their shape; they should not be soft enough to collapse into the rice.
8. 8
   Remove from the heat. Allow to rest, covered, for a few minutes. Serve the kuri okowa at room temperature or slightly warm, in small portions — the density of glutinous rice creates satiety quickly.