This Japanese mixed rice comes out with firm, separate grains that carry the soy seasoning and the sweetness of dried shrimp. Lotus root stays crisp, shiitake is fragrant, carrot is sweet, and one pot covers the whole meal.
The hardest part is keeping the grains from going soft, since the seasoned liquid is heavier than plain water. Frying the rice in oil before it cooks keeps the grains firm and loose. Measure exactly 550ml of the pork broth for 400g of rice, as even a little extra turns the rice wet.
This batch weighs about 1.6kg, at roughly 133 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 400g of fragrant soft rice until the water runs clear and drain it.
Put 10g of dried shrimp and 150g of pork collar in a pot with 800ml of water, 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder and the bruised white parts of the spring onions. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat. Once the pork is cooked, lift it out, cut it into strips and season it with 1 teaspoon of soy sauce.
Cut 50g of carrot into strips. Slice 50g of lotus root thinly. Soak 3 shiitake mushrooms in the rice rinsing water, trim the stems, clean them, blanch them and cut them into strips. Chop 5 spring onions.
Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, fry the rice briefly, add the carrot, lotus root and shiitake and stir until the grains firm up, then tip everything into the rice cooker.
Measure out 550ml of the pork broth along with the dried shrimp, season it with 5 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, stir until dissolved, then pour it into the rice cooker and mix.
Cook the rice through, then fold the pork back in.
Spoon the rice onto plates, scatter black pepper and spring onion over and serve hot.
Tips
Frying the rice before it cooks keeps the grains firm rather than soft.
Nang Thom Cho Dao or Tam Thom rice stands in for Japanese rice, with a little glutinous rice added for softness.
Peeled lotus root soaked in water with a splash of rice vinegar keeps from browning.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so stir it into the warm broth, stir again after 5 minutes and then pour it in.
Measure the liquid with a marked jug rather than by eye, as the soy sauce already adds volume and it is easy to overshoot.
Ten minutes of resting after the cooker clicks off, before the pork goes in, gives drier grains.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.