If you're a fan of Japanese rice, you won't want to miss out on Takikomi Gohan. This popular home-cooking recipe is tasty and packed with flavor. Learn how to make it!
Looking for a delicious and satisfying Japanese rice dish? Try this Takikomi Gohan!
Made with various vegetables and savory seasonings, this dish is easy to customize to your preferences. With simple ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, you'll be enjoying a flavorful and healthy meal in no time!
- This recipe is for you if:
- You love Japanese rice.
- You are looking for a simple takikomi gohan recipe.
- You want to know how to cook rice on the stove.
Let me show you how to make this tasty rice, so let's get started!
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About This Recipe
- Japanese seasoned rice
- Use a pot for cooking rice
- Vegan recipe
- Variations of ingredients
What is Takikomi Gohan?
Takikomi gohan is a Japanese rice dish made by cooking rice with various ingredients and seasonings such as dashi (Japanese soup stock), soy sauce, sake, and vegetables.
The ingredients vary, but common additions include mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots, and hijiki seaweed. The dish is typically cooked in a rice cooker or pot and has a delicious, savory flavor that is perfect for a comforting meal.
Similar rice dishes
People also call it Gomoku gohan, which means "Five Ingredient Rice," even though it is not necessarily made with only five ingredients but instead can contain many different ingredients.
There is a similar dish called Maze gohan. It's also a rice dish but quite different from takikomi gohan. While takikomi gohan is made by cooking rice and ingredients together, maze gohan is made by mixing ingredients and seasonings after the rice has been cooked.
How to Cook Japanese Rice on the Stove
To help you prepare the recipe, I'd like to provide a brief guide on how to cook rice on the stove. While using a rice cooker is convenient, cooking rice in a pot can be just as easy. Here are the simple steps to follow:
- Soak the rice: Rinse the rice and soak it in water for 30 minutes.
- Bring to a boil and simmer: Place the pot over medium heat and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer the rice for 10 minutes with the lid on.
- Steam the rice: After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, but leave the lid on the pot. Let the rice steam for another 10 minutes.
If you'd like, you can soak the rice the night before to save time in the morning. Once the rice cooks, you can set a timer and focus on other tasks.
Equipment
To cook rice, you'll need a medium-sized pot. I personally use my Staub pot, which is a bit expensive but definitely worth it, in my opinion. The Staub pot is built to last and can withstand many years of use. Additionally, it's a versatile tool that can be used for cooking a variety of dishes, not just rice.
Don't worry if you don't have a Staub pot; any medium-sized pot will do the job. The most important thing is to have a pot with a tight-fitting lid to ensure the steam stays inside and cook the rice evenly.
My Staub pot is 18cm in size, which is suitable for cooking 2 or 3 cups of rice. This amount is perfect for a family of 2 or 3. If you have a larger family of 4, I recommend getting the 20cm Staub pot, which can cook more rice.
📋 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).
- Japanese short-grain rice
- Vegetables: Carrot, daikon, shimeji mushrooms. You can choose any vegetables you like, but root vegetables and mushrooms are my favorites. See more variations in the following section.
- Seasoning: Sake, soy sauce, shio kombu
Shiokombu
Shiokombu is a Japanese seasoning made from shredded kombu (seaweed) that has been flavored with salt and sugar. It has a deliciously salty, sweet, and flavorful taste that can be used to add depth to a variety of dishes.
I like to use shiokombu instead of dashi stock for this rice recipe, as it adds a delicious umami flavor. However, if you're unable to find shiokombu at your local grocery store, you can still use regular dashi stock as a substitute.
By the way, there are many ways to use shiokombu in cooking. Some popular recipes include quick-pickled cucumbers, stir-fried daikon skin, and simple onigiri (rice balls).
Where to Buy Japanese Ingredients
If you live in the US, you can find Japanese ingredients in the list below.
- Japanese market: Mitsuwa Marketplace, Marukai
- Asian market
- Whole Foods Market
- Health food stores
- Online stores: Instacart, Walmart, Amazon
🔪Instructions
Let's go over how to make it. Click here to watch the recipe video.
- Soak rice in water: Put rice in a medium-sized pot, rinse the rice, and soak for 30 minutes or more.
- Cut vegetables: Cut carrot and daikon into small pieces (or thin strips). Remove the bottom of the shimeji mushrooms and take them apart.
- Bring to a boil: Remove the soaking water, add 360ml of water, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Add seasoning: Add sake, soy sauce, and shio kombu, and stir.
- Simmer: Place the vegetables on top of the rice, put the lid on, then cook over low heat for 12 minutes.
- Steam: Turn off the heat and leave it for another 10 minutes with the lid on.
- Stir: Open the lid and gently stir with a rice paddle from the bottom (do not mash rice grains).
It smells absolutely delicious when you add shio kombu and soy sauce to your rice. You can sprinkle some kizami nori (nori flakes) on top for extra flavor. Give yourself the true Japanese rice experience by enjoying every mouthful!
Storage
If you have leftover rice, turn it into onigiri, wrap it up, and store it in the freezer. This will help it stay fresh for up to a month. When you're ready to eat your onigiri, microwave it for a quick and easy meal.
Variations
You can experiment with a variety of ingredients when making takikomi gohan to find your favorite combination of flavors and textures. Here's a great addition to consider:
- Root vegetables - Gobo (burdock root), renkon (lotus root), sweet potatoes
- Mushrooms - Shiitake mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, eringi mushrooms
- Other vegetables - Corn, green peas
- Seaweed - hijiki seaweed
- Fish and seafood - Salmon, tuna, mackerel, Asari (clam)
- Other - Aburaage (deep-fried tofu), soybeans
Here are my favorite takikomi gohan recipes:
Thanks for Stopping By!
This Japanese seasoned rice is full of flavor, delicious, and easy to make. I'm sure you'll enjoy every bite!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡. If you’ve tried this recipe(or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!
Also, feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!
Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.
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📖 Recipe
Takikomi Gohan (Japanese Seasoned Rice)
Print Pin SaveEquipment
- 1 Staub pot 18cm / 7 inches (medium-sized pot)
Ingredients
- 360 ml Japanese short-grain rice, 300g, 2 Japanese rice cups
- 360 ml Water, 2 Japanese rice cups
- ½ Carrot, 70g
- 2 cm Daikon, 100g, 0.8 inches
- 1 pack Shimeji mushrooms, 100g
Seasonings
- 1 tablespoon Sake
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Shio kombu, 10g
Instructions
- Soak rice: Put rice in a medium-sized pot, rinse the rice, and soak for 30 minutes or more.
- Cut vegetables: Cut carrot and daikon into small pieces. Remove the bottom of shimeji mushrooms and take them apart.
- Bring to a boil: Remove the soaking water, add 360ml of water, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Add seasoning: Add sake, soy sauce, shio kombu, and stir with a rice paddle.
- Simmer: Place the vegetables on top of the rice, put the lid on, and cook over low heat for 12 minutes.
- Steam: Turn off the heat and leave it for another 10 minutes with the lid on.
- Stir: Open the lid and gently stir from the bottom (do not mash rice grains).
Video
Notes
- Storage: It will last in the freezer for one month.
- Substitute: You can use gobo, lotus roots, and other types of mushrooms.
- Japanese rice cooker cup is 180ml (btw Japanese regular cup is 200ml).
- After steaming for 10 minutes, don't forget to stir the rice. If you don't stir, the rice will get stiff.
- If you use a rice cooker, rinse rice, mix seasoning, place ingredients on top and press the cook button.
- If you don't have shio kombu, you can substitute it with 1 teaspoon of dashi powder.
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