Takikomi-gohan

[Cheeko]

Still waiting for chestnuts here. I'm sure they're ready for market but they aren't sold here until Christmas time. The ones I got last year weren't very good because they were old. I had to throw away many of them

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I gave up waiting for them to show up in the store -- again, I found these online and am thinking about ordering more. They were quite good. Williams-Sonoma is also selling fresh chestnuts

from their catalogue and internet if all else fails. They also have a scoring tool that I should probably invest in if I plan to keep making kuri gohan

[Cheeko]

I think you now miss plain cooked rice, though

Yes, and no. I have so much calrose rice left to use. Since my experience with both the imported Koshi Hikari and the domestic Hitomebore, I can't stand the calrose plain. It was pretty old (smells like the store I bought it from so I really have to rinse and soak) so I use it for these processed kamameshi mixes. They dress up the rice very nicely.

The only mixes I like to use for takikomi are the ones for kuri (chestnut) rice. 

I don't know why but I prefer the flavor of the chesnuts in those packs...

Unfortunately, or fortunately the gomoku and kinoko kamameshi mixes are the only kinds I can find these days. If they had a kuri one, my hands would beg for it I also wanted to taste the real thing before I tried a mix or the jarred chestnuts they sell here around this time of year.

[Hiroyuki]

Still waiting for chestnuts here. I'm sure they're ready for market but they aren't sold here until Christmas time. The ones I got last year weren't very good because they were old. I had to throw away many of them

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I gave up waiting for them to show up in the store -- again, I found these online and am thinking about ordering more. They were quite good. Williams-Sonoma is also selling fresh chestnuts

from their catalogue and internet if all else fails. They also have a scoring tool that I should probably invest in if I plan to keep making kuri gohan

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You mean that yours were waguri (Japanese chestnuts) not youguri (Western chestnuts)??

[Cheeko]

You mean that yours were waguri (Japanese chestnuts) not youguri (Western chestnuts)??

Honestly, I don't know. They didn't look like American chestnuts and since my memory fails me I can't really tell you about the flavors other than "they were tasty" They were also cheaper per pound than the Williams Sonoma offerings. Perhaps a domestic hybrid?

[helenjp]

Chestnut season seems to be over here - maybe not such a good harvest this year, with lots of rain and not much sun during the growing season.

I like to soak the peeled chestnuts in water and then boil them very briefly before adding them to the rice - makes the color much brighter.

Going the other way, somewhere I have a recipe for kurigohan with the thin, inner "shibukawa" of the chestnut left on. I will dig around for it when current work deadlines are out of my way!

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

Still waiting for chestnuts here. I'm sure they're ready for market but they aren't sold here until Christmas time. The ones I got last year weren't very good because they were old. I had to throw away many of them

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If you live near a Trader Joes, I'm pretty sure I saw some chestnuts there the last time I went. If you'd like, I'll check again the next time I go. I'm pretty sure they're an Italian variety. I think they were either frozen or vaccuum packed, don't remember which.

My grandparents used to receive chestnuts as gifts from their clients around CHristmas time... I remember what a pain in the butt they were to peel.

[Hiroyuki]

You mean that yours were waguri (Japanese chestnuts) not youguri (Western chestnuts)??

Honestly, I don't know. They didn't look like American chestnuts and since my memory fails me I can't really tell you about the flavors other than "they were tasty" They were also cheaper per pound than the Williams Sonoma offerings. Perhaps a domestic hybrid?

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Today's Me Ga Ten (TV show) featured waguri (Japanese chestnuts), which I found fairly interesting. One of the features of waguri is that they contain much more of two fragrance components than youguri (Western chestnuts).

One of the greatest disadvantages of waguri is that their shibukawa 渋皮(astringent skins) are hard to peel. (The outer, hard shell is called onikawa 鬼皮, by the way.)

But here is big news! According to the show, a new variety called porotan (ポロタン), whose astringent skins are easy to peel, has been developed, and it will be marketed in... five years .

I found this webpage describing this new variety (Japanese only).

Made some corrections and additions.

Edited October 29, 2006 by Hiroyuki (log)

[torakris]

(The outer, hard shell is called onikawa, by the way.)

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and for those that are unfamiliar with the Japanese oni....

(kawa refers to the skin or shell)

[sk_ward]

My first takikomi gohan of the season! I always have trouble using up an entire stick of gobo before it gets soft, so I figured to give takikomi gohan a try. I also tossed in some kabocha that I wanted to use up. I wasn't sure how the combination would taste, but I was pleasantly surprised. I also wasn't sure if I was supposed to cook the kabocha a little before tossing it in with the rice, but I decided to just slice it into relatively thin pieces. It managed to become nice and soft without falling apart. I don't like how takikomi gohan becomes hard if you try to keep it for future meals, so I only made one gou of rice. I based my liquid measurements on what Hiroyuki suggested for hiratake takikomi gohan (Hiroyuki's Hiratake Takikomi Gohan Recipe), but I cut down the amounts to be appropriate for only one cup of rice. I put in the rice, then the liquids, then the gobo and the kabocha, then added water to the one cup mark, stirred gently, closed the lid and pressed start. The smell from the rice cooker was great and it took a lot of restraint to not cheat and look inside to make sure that the amount of liquid was okay! It came out with a great texture, not too dry at all.

Edited October 29, 2006 by sk_ward (log)

[Cheeko]

I also tossed in some kabocha that I wanted to use up.  I wasn't sure how the combination would taste, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

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Sounds good to me How about kuri gohan with a side of simmered kabocha?

Battling chestnuts... I ordered a new batch, this time definitely the American variety.

...and I also purchased this thing called a chestnutter. It at least removes the risk of injury when scoring the chestnut before cooking.

It was very easy to use and it's success rate was pretty good. At least half of the chestnuts relinquished shell and "kawa" by hand. Only a token few but up that nasty battle.

I'll be making kuri gohan again today, but I'm trying to decide whether or not to throw in some nice sweet potatoes that our local asian grocer was trying to get rid of before they start to shrivel away.

Kristin - thanks for the link to the oni! When my nephew was about 4 years old, he went through a phase of dressing himself all in red clothes (red shirt, red shorts, red socks.) My mother kept calling him "akaoni" and he lived up to the name

[melonpan]

wow... this looks so delish. i almost want to cry.

but i wont.

ill just have some tomorrow night. yaay!

[BarbaraY]

A terrible disappointment for me. Chestnuts were in the store this week. I bought some to make kuri gohan and when I got them home found that they were worse than awful!

The first one I opened was as hard as a rock inside. I tried simmering to see if it would soften but it wouldn't. Checked the next and found it was the same.

I'm taking them back to the store today and registering a complaint. I know it isn't the produce manager's fault but the grower that shipped them.

I may never get to have kuri gohan.

[shinju]

Matsutake is recently inexpensive here in Bay Area - granted it it not the best kind and some are open tops, but still taste and smell great. I've been using it for the last two months in various dishes but after reading some blogs talking of taimeshi I really wanted to try it using matsutake too.

Normally I make all my takikomigohan using my electric rice cooker but this time I wanted to try my hand using my small nabe dish. I never tried cooking rice this way and really had no idea if it was going to work. But I remember making rice in old days in Japan using our old kama and though I don't remember all the steps and just the vague memories from those days, I figure I may be able to wing it.

Some say cook on high, turn down to medium, and finish with simmer. I may try that next time, but with my first attempt I started out with simmer and finished it with high heat until I can hear the crackle of rice. It tasted wonderful. I used 1/2 C rice, 170 cc dashi, 1 1/2 tsp each shoyu, mirin, sake, some kombu strips, matsutake strips, and grilled tai.

Before cooking:

After cooking. Forgot to time it and don't know how long I simmered the nabe. I peeked several times and checked the rice consistency.

After letting it sit for a while and mixing. Ready to eat.

I really liked this and want to again soon.

[prasantrin]

I don't really like takikomigohan very much (I don't dislike it, but I don't find it to be very interesting), but I thought it was interesting that at a recent dinner, 4 out of the 6 co-workers I was sitting with chose takikomigohan as their last meal. Do most Japanese have such a strong attachment to the dish?

[JasonTrue]

I prefer most takikomi gohan to most American casseroles; it seems to me that both are simple comfort food.

I don't really like takikomigohan very much (I don't dislike it, but I don't find it to be very interesting), but I thought it was interesting that at a recent dinner, 4 out of the 6 co-workers I was sitting with chose takikomigohan as their last meal.  Do most Japanese have such a strong attachment to the dish?

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[shinju]

I don't really like takikomigohan very much (I don't dislike it, but I don't find it to be very interesting), but I thought it was interesting that at a recent dinner, 4 out of the 6 co-workers I was sitting with chose takikomigohan as their last meal.  Do most Japanese have such a strong attachment to the dish?

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It's a seasonal thing for me. I never think of takikomi gohan until Fall/Winter season when a greater variety of mushrooms are abundant.

[Hiroyuki]

I don't really like takikomigohan very much (I don't dislike it, but I don't find it to be very interesting), but I thought it was interesting that at a recent dinner, 4 out of the 6 co-workers I was sitting with chose takikomigohan as their last meal.  Do most Japanese have such a strong attachment to the dish?

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It's a seasonal thing for me. I never think of takikomi gohan until Fall/Winter season when a greater variety of mushrooms are abundant.

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Yep, it is seasonal. Bamboo shoots in the spring and mushrooms in the fall. And, I can't deny that takikomi gohan has some inexplicable appeal to the Japanese people. It looks so rich to the Japanese eye.

[torakris]

I don't really like takikomigohan very much (I don't dislike it, but I don't find it to be very interesting), but I thought it was interesting that at a recent dinner, 4 out of the 6 co-workers I was sitting with chose takikomigohan as their last meal.  Do most Japanese have such a strong attachment to the dish?

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It's a seasonal thing for me. I never think of takikomi gohan until Fall/Winter season when a greater variety of mushrooms are abundant.

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Yep, it is seasonal. Bamboo shoots in the spring and mushrooms in the fall. And, I can't deny that takikomi gohan has some inexplicable appeal to the Japanese people. It looks so rich to the Japanese eye.

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I like takikomigohan because as a busy mother it gets a lot of different foods on the table with very little effort.

While I wouldn't count it among my favorite dishes, I do get occasional craving for it especially kuri gohan.

My Japanese husband, on the other hand, doesn't care for any type of takikomigohan and would probably make a (very sweetly of course) comment to that fact if I made it more than twice in a month.

[Hiroyuki]

I'm not sure if maze gohan deserves its own thread, so I post this here.

I made maze gohan with leftover grilled salmon trouts. I posted some photos here. It was good!

[MoGa]

I'm not sure if maze gohan deserves its own thread, so I post this here.

I made maze gohan with leftover grilled salmon trouts.  I posted some photos here.  It was good!

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I'm just about to give it a try following your lead. I have flaked salmon instead of flaked trout but all the other ingredients are to hand.

The only adjustment I'm going to make apart from that is to add threads of konnyaku as I had some left over from yesterday. I still don't know if this is a good or bad idea.

[helenjp]

I think (myself) that konnyaku is better cooked in with the rice (takikomigohan style) as it takes a while to absorb flavor.

But I do think that maze-gohan is great in spring and summer, as it tends to be a lighter dish than takikomi-gohan.

We had a "maze-gohan" today, of some seriously substandard beef "steak", with crispy fried onion, tomato, and peppers.

[MoGa]

I think (myself) that konnyaku is better cooked in with the rice (takikomigohan style) as it takes a while to absorb flavor.

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You seem to have a point there. The konnyaku didn't really bring anything along to the party, but it wasn't an unwelcome guest either.

I'll cook it with the rice next time. I also wonder if it's worth marinading konnyaku with the sake/mirin/soy sauce Hiroyuki recommended first. Perhaps I should add here that I simmered the konnyaku in boiling water and rinsed it before shredding it. That pretty much eliminated the smell.

The maze gohan was certainly tasty and ended up being a perfect way to finish off some ingredients I had that needed eating. As well as the salmon flakes I had some small cooked prawns and they made a splendid addition also. I always seem to have abura-age in the freezer which I rinse with boiling water and then squeeze dry.

This was my first attempt at maze gohan, but I'm not sure if using sake, mirin and soy sauce in a 1:1:1 ratio was the best way. It did taste good though!

[Hiroyuki]

As for me, I used the same ratio as that for my takikomi gohan:

Soy sauce:sake:mirin = 1:0.75:0.5

Thus, for gohan (cooked rice) made from 3 go (3 x 180 ml) kome (uncooked rice), I used:

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 sake

1 tbsp mirin

Takikomi gohan recipes vary greatly in the dashi/soy sauce/sake/mirin ratio. I think that if you prefer sweeter takikomi (and maze) gohan, the 1:1 ratio for soy sauce and mirin should be good.

[MoGa]

I was curious to know which ratio you had used Hiroyuki. Thanks for responding with it, I'll try it this way next time.

[Hiroyuki]

I made kuri okowa (glutinous rice cooked with chestnuts) for yesterday's dinner.

The ingredients are 4 gou (1 gou = 180 ml) glutinous rice, 18 large chestnuts, 2 tablespoons sake, and 1 teaspoon salt.

So simple, yet so delicious!

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It's already that time of the year!? I was really craving some kuri gohan (kuri okowa would be good too, but I'm currently out of mochigome) the other day and lamented the fact that it will probably be a couple more weeks until some chestnuts are available to me. Summer doesn't seem to want to die just yet here.

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It's that time of year again! My parents, who live in Chiba prefecture, sent us a box of chestnuts the other day, as they do every year. I have decided to make kuri okowa for tonight's supper.

Before I went shopping in the morning, I told my wife I'd buy some mochigome (glutinous rice) to make kuri okowa, but she replied that I could always make kuri gohan instead. I said, angrily, "But I like mochigome!!" I'm usually a faithful rice person, but when it comes to "takikomi-ing (?) chestnuts, sansai (wild edible plants), etc., I've always preferred mochigome. I don't know why, but the texture of mochigome is so right with chestnuts and sansai.

There has been little or no discussion about varieties of mochigome. Here is the variety often found in Niigata, Kogane Mochi, which is said to be the "king of mochigome".

This 1-kg (2.2 lb.) bag costs 620 yen.

The inner pot of the rice cooker, together with "Kurikuri Bozu", which I used to peel the chestnuts. Tough guy!

I used the whole bag of mochigome, which is equivalent to about 6.5 gou (1 gou = 180 ml). My complaint is why they sell mochigome and regular rice (uruchi mai or gome) by the kilogram when we still use "gou" for cooking .

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This evening, I made the first kuri okowa this season. Everyone liked it, as usual. Has anyone else made their first kuri okowa or gohan this season?