Takikomi gohan is a whole meal from one press of the rice cooker button. What makes it good is rice that has drunk up dashi broth and taken on the smell of mushrooms. The water is the tricky part, because the mushrooms release more of it and the rice turns soggy.
Soak the rice for 20 to 30 minutes before adding the broth, soy sauce and mirin to the pot. The mushrooms, carrot and chicken sit on top of the rice, and leaving them unstirred at this stage is what cooks the rice evenly.
This batch weighs about 735g, at roughly 116 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse the rice, soak it for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain.
Cut the mushrooms into bite sized pieces, cut the carrot into matchsticks or small dice, and cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces.
Put the rice, 200ml of stock, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of mirin into the rice cooker and stir gently to combine.
Lay the mushrooms, carrot and chicken over the surface of the rice without stirring, so the rice cooks evenly.
Start the usual rice cooking cycle.
When it finishes, leave it to stand for about 10 minutes before opening the lid.
Fold gently from the bottom up with a paddle to mix the rice with the vegetables and chicken, then add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
Scatter over chopped spring onion and serve hot.
Tips
Dried shiitake mushrooms soaked until soft give deeper flavor than fresh ones.
Keep the liquid low, as the mushrooms release more of it as they cook.
Without mirin, use honey in the same quantity given in the recipe.
Honey is still sugar, so measure it exactly and do not drizzle more at the table.
Salmon or fried tofu works in place of the chicken with no change to the cooking time.
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