Takikomi Gohan Mixed Rice Seasonal Preparations

Ingredients

• 360 ml (2 cups) Japanese short-grain rice, washed and soaked 30 minutes, drained
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce, usukuchi (light soy) preferred to preserve colour
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) sake
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) mirin
• to the standard rice-cooker or pot line dashi, completing the total liquid ratio after soy, sake and mirin are measured in
• Autumn (flagship): matsutake gohan
• 150 g fresh matsutake mushrooms, wiped clean, sliced lengthways
• Spring variation: takenoko gohan
• 150 g fresh bamboo shoot (takenoko), pre-boiled, sliced into thin pieces
• 20 g dried wakame, soaked and roughly chopped
• Summer variation: tomorokoshi gohan
• 1 ear of corn (tomorokoshi), kernels stripped from the cob
• Winter variation: kaki gohan
• 150 g fresh oysters (kaki), rinsed
• 10 g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into fine julienne
• Autumn variation: kuri gohan
• 150 g fresh chestnuts (kuri), peeled and scored

Method

1. 1
   Wash the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs nearly clear. Soak for 30 minutes, then drain thoroughly in a sieve. This step is not optional: residual starch from unwashed, unsoaked rice will make the finished dish gluey.
2. 2
   Measure the soy sauce, sake and mirin directly into the cooking pot or rice-cooker bowl. Add dashi to bring the total liquid up to the standard line for the volume of rice being cooked — the seasoning liquids replace an equivalent volume of water, leaving the total liquid ratio unchanged. Confirm the liquid does not exceed the standard mark; excess liquid produces soggy rice.
3. 3
   Add the drained rice to the seasoned liquid. Stir once only to distribute the liquid evenly, then stop. Place the seasonal ingredient — matsutake slices, bamboo shoot, corn kernels, scored chestnuts, or oysters with ginger — on top of the rice in a single layer. Do not mix them into the rice. This is where the dish lives or dies: from this moment the pot must not be opened and the contents must not be stirred; disturbing the rice releases starch and produces a sticky, gluey result, while opening the lid during cooking allows steam to escape and prevents even cooking.
4. 4
   Cook over the standard rice-cooker cycle, or on the stovetop: bring to the boil over medium heat, reduce immediately to the lowest possible flame, cover tightly, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest, lid on and undisturbed, for a further 10 minutes. The correct completion signal on a stovetop pot is the cessation of steam from the lid — no steam escaping means the liquid has been fully absorbed.
5. 5
   Uncover and assess. The rice grains should be distinct and infused with a light golden colour from the usukuchi soy; the seasonal ingredients will have settled slightly into the surface. The aroma — in the case of matsutake gohan, the extraordinary mushroom perfume — should rise immediately on lifting the lid. Using a rice paddle (shamoji), fold the rice from the bottom up in wide, turning cuts to incorporate the ingredients, without mashing. Serve at once into bowls.