Japanese foods--gohanmono

torakris · February 10, 2003

Browsing through the internet I cam across this interesting site put together by some school students in Niigata, Japan. It is actually a poll on your favorite way to eat rice and it got me thinking about the way people outside of Japan eat Japanese rice.

Take a look (and feel free to vote in their poll as well!):

http://www.niigata-inet.or.jp/ohno-e/class...fmr/fmr3p_e.htm

So what is your favorite?

Jason Perlow · February 10, 2003

The matsutake one looked really tasty.

We have some furikake at home, its a great way of sprucing up some plain boiled Nishiki.

gknl · February 11, 2003

Yeah, who needs risotto? :wink: (just kidding, I like it that way too, but there's just something about plain rice). I was reminded in the furikake thread about eating egg on rice; raw egg and shoyu poured on top of hot rice. Great stuff, though I haven't had it in a long time.

Jinmyo · February 11, 2003

For breakfast I often make very lightly fried eggs, set atop gohan in a bowl, with a sprinkle of togarashi (chile powder) and a splash of shoyu, perhaps some furikake or lemon zest or bonito shavings. Spoon. Neh?

cabrales · February 11, 2003

With eggs and chicken meshed together on top, as in oyakodon. :laugh:

nightscotsman · February 11, 2003

I love sushi rice. I could even be happy eating it without fish, though the combination is perfect, of course.

cherrypi · February 11, 2003

I was reminded in the furikake thread about eating egg on rice; raw egg and shoyu poured on top of hot rice. Great stuff, though I haven't had it in a long time.

When I was a kid, I used to eat this for breakfast every weekend (I don't know what the official name is; my family called it "tama-tama gohan" or "otamachan-gohan"). As I got older, I started finding the slimy, mushy egg-rice mixture really gross, not to mention I developed a paranoia about the raw egg (because it doesn't quite "cook" as it would in a carbonara). But now you've got me feeling all nostalgic - I must eat it this weekend.

Matsutake-gohan is divine! Once every several years, my parents and their friends take a road trip to northern Ontario during autumn to look for matsutake in the forests. (Otherwise, my parents buy their annual stash of matsutake from a "friend of a friend in B.C.") I always wait for that phone call once a year: "You're coming over for some matsutake-gohan and pan-fried matsutake." The fragrance of the rice cooked with the matsutake is positively intoxicating.

SobaAddict70 · February 11, 2003

Natto and gohan.

Its weird though, because I'll eat natto but loathe stinky cheese of any sort.

(Yes, I'm a recent natto convert.)

SA

torakris · February 11, 2003

I was reminded in the furikake thread about eating egg on rice; raw egg and shoyu poured on top of hot rice. Great stuff, though I haven't had it in a long time.
When I was a kid, I used to eat this for breakfast every weekend (I don't know what the official name is; my family called it "tama-tama gohan" or "otamachan-gohan"). As I got older, I started finding the slimy, mushy egg-rice mixture really gross, not to mention I developed a paranoia about the raw egg (because it doesn't quite "cook" as it would in a carbonara). But now you've got me feeling all nostalgic - I must eat it this weekend.

My husband eats this occasionally however he quirts some mayo on top of it all!

EEEWWWWWW :wacko:

I wouldn't let him serve it to the kids for the first couple of years because I don7t like the idea of small kids eating raw eggs, but no they are old enough to say no thank you themselves.

I never care for this and definitely prefer natto gohan for breakfast.

tissue · February 11, 2003

ikura gohan! :biggrin: my sis and I used to fight over this stuff

coastcat · February 12, 2003

I was reminded in the furikake thread about eating egg on rice; raw egg and shoyu poured on top of hot rice. Great stuff, though I haven't had it in a long time.

I was the one who brought this up in that thread, and must admit that I haven't had it for a long time either. It freaks out my husband too much - not surprising, since this is the man who won't eat dark meat chicken because it has too much flavor. No, really. And I married him? :blink:

There are times when you simply crave fat and starch, and one of my favorite ways to satisfy the craving is leftover gohan sauteed in way too much butter (and a little black pepper).

Schielke · February 13, 2003

Gohan? I am assuming this is the Japanese name for rice?

Ben

torakris · February 14, 2003

Gohan? I am assuming this is the Japanese name for rice?
Ben

Gohan is the Japanese word for both a meal and for the bowl of cooked rice.

for example:

asa-gohan breakfast

hiru-gohan lunch

ban-gohan (or yoru-gohan or yu-gohan) dinner

but when you are referring to the rice in the raw state (before cooking) it is called kome.

Then if you are refering to the new crop of rice it is called shinmei

i could confuse you more but will stop there! :biggrin:

Edited September 20, 2004 by Jason Perlow (log)

torakris · April 22, 2003

Japan, like most Asian countries, is rice based and thus have an incredible variety of rice dishes. I am going to attempt to organize them.

General rice categories are listed in caps with variations and explanations below them.

TAKIKOMI-GOHAN

this is rice cooked with one or more additional ingredients. Sometimes they are added raw to the raw rice and sometimes they are slightly cooked (sauteed) and added to the raw rice. Seasoning can be as simple as just dashi or just sake or as complex as dashi, sake, soy, mirin, etc. This is a quick dinner, everything cooked together in the rice cooker, and all you really need is a simple soup to go with it. Thus it is quite a popular dish at home and packets of takikomi no gu (preseasoned meat and vegetable mixtures that just need to be added to the raw rice) are available everywhere. This is a very seasonal dish with the ingredients varying depending on the season:

spring-- takenoko-gohan (Bamboo shoot rice)

summer-- mame-gohan (green pea rice)

autumn-- matsutake-gohan (matsutake mushroom rice)

winter-- kuri-gohan (chestnut rice)

MAZE-GOHAN

"mixed" rice, this is a dish in which pre-cooked ingredients are stirred into the rice after it has finished cooking. One traditional maze gohan is na-meshi in which daikon greens (or other greens) are salted then stirred into the rice just before serving. This method can be used with almost anything, the meat/vegetable mixtures are usually cooked with a little extra liquid so as to flavor the rice. Garnishes (yuzu rind, mitsuba,shiso,etc) are placed on top of the rice once it has been placed in the bowl.

SUSHI-MESHI

This is the traditonal rice preparation for serving sushi, the rice is seasoned with vinegar, sugar and salt. Besides the regular nigiri, this is used as a base for other types of "sushi".

chirashi-zushi - sushi rice topped with/or mixed with seafood and/or vegetables

temaki/maki-zushi - sushi rolls

oshi-zushi - sushi rice topped pressed into a mold, topped with fish, then cut into bite size pieces

inari-zushi -deep fried tofu pockets (aburage) are seasoned then filled with sushi meshi with or with out additional ingredients

fukusa-zushi - similar to the inari-zushi, but a paper thin egg omelette is used instead of the tofu

OKAYU/ZOSUI

These are both types of rice gruel. Okayu is raw rice mixed with water (in proportion of anywhere from 1:5 to 1:20) and is the only rice dish traditionally cooked with out covering, though nowadays most people make it in the rice cooker. Okayu is the chicken soup of Japan and is served to people feeling under the weather. It can be seasoned with anyhting your heart desires from umeboshi to egg yolks to nori to various vegetables to kimchi or even a combination of them all!

Zosui on the other hand, is a type of gruel in which cooked rice is added to some type of liquid.. You can make a dashi based, soy seasoned broth to stir your rice into, but the most common way is to use the leftover soup from a nabe (Japanese hot pot). Both kinds are seasoned with things like eggs (cooked till just barely set), nori and various other seasoning

STEAMED RICE DISHES

I can't seem to find a Japanese word that actually categorizes these stead rice dishes, but I am clumping them together anyway. These types of dishes are made with either mochi-gome (Japanese sticky rice) or a mixture of the sticky rice and plain Japanese rice. These are all steamed (in various vessels) rather then the other rice dishes which are "boiled".

okowa- is cooked in cloth lined bamboo basket and can be plain steamed rice or have a variety of ingredients (similar to takikomi) added. the most popular of these is sekihan the red bean rice topped with gomashio

wappa-meshi -a wappa is an old fashioned wooden lunch box and now wappa-meshi refers to a type of rice steamed in one of these with a variety of ingredients depending on the season and the locality

kama-meshi - a kama is the traditional rice cooker of old Japan, consisting of ametal bowl topped with a wooden lid, today small individual sized kamas are used to served kama-meshi. The ingredients are the same as wappa-meshi and vary depending on the season and locality.

DONBURI

the word doburi actually refers deep, tradionally porcelain dish, with a lid about twice the size of a normal rice bowl. The rice is placed in the bowl and covered with a variety of topping, meat/fish/egg/vegetables in various sauces with any type of seasoning. Examples included

gyudon- beef bowl

katsu-don- tonkatsu (pork cutlet)

tendon- short for tempura donburi

oyakodon- oya meaning parent and ko meaning child refering to the chicken and egg combination

Edited April 22, 2003 by torakris (log)

mamster · April 22, 2003

Unagi-don all the way.

Bigfoot · April 22, 2003

Oshinko-chahan (pickled vegetable fried rice)

Kimchi-chahan (kimchi fried rice)

Crab or fugu zosui -- made with leftover nabe broth at the table in the winter; very subtle, delicate flavor that doesn't need much ponzu otherwise it's overwhelmed

Kamameshi with a nice bit of okoge (the crispy rice that touches the hot metal bowl)

Unagi-don

Gyu-don (Yoshinoya is my late-nite guilty pleasure)

torakris · April 22, 2003

How about soem of the things to do with cooked Japanese rice traditional or not:

ochazuke

omuraisu (omelette covered rice, usually ketchup flavored)

fried rice

onigiri

mochi

I can't really think of a rice preparation that I don't like, except for maybe omuraisu. :hmmm:

anil · April 22, 2003

What kind of a rice is used in a rice soup dish (whose name escapes me at this moment) ?

This is supposedly the second most popular meal (after ramen) amongst the Univ. students in Kyoto.

margaret · April 22, 2003

Could this be ocha-zuke? Tea poured over cooked Japanese rice, often prepared from a powder mixed with hot water. Flavored with nori, tiny rice crackers, ume, wasabi, etc. Cheap and easy, and a good way to use up leftover rice.

I'm actually not a big gohan person. I like it, but I don't need to eat it every day. I like it plain, with just some nori and shoyu, or else maybe takana or kimchi chahan (fried rice with pickled mustard leaf or kimchi). Leftover fried rice the next day rolled up into onigiri.

During my poorer student days (not totally over yet), I used to eat a lot of ketchup gohan. Uggggh. Sad to say, this wasn't so long ago. Now I make a lot of takikomi gohan out of convenience, usually with dashi/soy/sake, and whatever vegetables are around - gobo (burdock), takenoko (bamboo shoot), carrots, some kind of mushroom.

Mochi, however, I can't get enough of. Grilled, dipped in a soy-sugar sauce, wrapped in nori. Or else melting and soft in a bowl of oshiruko.

tissue · April 22, 2003

Crab or fugu zosui -- made with leftover nabe broth at the table in the winter; very subtle, delicate flavor that doesn't need much ponzu otherwise it's overwhelmed

This is definitely my favorite. I always crack an egg into it.

torakris · April 22, 2003

What kind of a rice is used in a rice soup dish (whose name escapes me at this moment) ?
This is supposedly the second most popular meal (after ramen) amongst the Univ. students in Kyoto.

I think you are referring to ochazuke,

the ochazuke thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=19&t=16695&

smallworld · April 23, 2003

All rice is good.

Especially:

plain white rice eaten with an assortment of stuff like mentaiko, nori, shiso, grilled salted salmon etc.

onigiri

takikomi gohan

zosui (crab, fugu or anything!)

torakris · April 23, 2003

I really love donburis, I love the contrast of the hot white rice with a highly seasoned (spicy or salty) topping, or else with seafood, partucularly uni or ikura.

There is a wonderful kamameshi restaurant by our house that my husband and I used to frequent quite a bit.

spaghetttti · September 18, 2004

Just came back from a wonderful Saturday night dinner at Torigen restaurant which recently opened here in Bandung.

We were hungry and undecided as to what to order. I was leaning towards sushi or something fried. But we ended up ordering the kamameshi - ebi for my husband and salmon for me. I compromised on the sushi and got some Californa rolls since we were told that the kamameshi would take about 20 minutes to prepare.

It's a great presentation, and I enjoyed the rice, though I must say on the whole it was a little bland, had to keep adding stuff to it.

The okoge was our favorite part.

dougery · September 18, 2004

I've got a little list:

1) Ikura gohan with fresh nori strips

2) Natto with chopped scallions and soy on hot rice with nori strips (no raw egg pls)

3) Grated wild mountain potato with soy and chopped maguro on hot rice with nori

4) Ochazuke

5) Plain white rice with oshinko/kim-chee with Korean nori

6) Matsutake gohan, is this one off topic because it is cooked with the rice? if not , this is my number one choice.

7) Katsudon

By the way, my cousin once told me a saying that when he grew up his mom said "eat every grain of rice or you will go blind" I've heard this from a couple of other relatives as well. Is this a common Japanese saying or is my family just cruel?

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