Gomoku Gohan (Japanese Mixed Rice)
It might look difficult, but it is not so hard to make at all. The rice is cooked in the seasoned dashi stock that the vegetables are pre-cooked in, so the cooked rice has such a good flavour from the vegetables. You can almost eat the rice by itself without any other dishes! If you use dashi stock made from kelp only instead of using katsuobushi (bonito flakes), you can make gomoku gohan 100% vegetarian.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 360 ml (12.2oz) rice (I used 1/4 short grain rice + ¾ sticky rice (note 1))
- 50 g (1.8oz) lotus roots ((note 2))
- 50 g (1.8oz) carrot
- 1 aburaage
- 2-3 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in water and rehydrated ((note 3))
- ½ block of konnyaku ((note 4))
- 200 ml (6.8oz) dashi stock ((note 5))
- 100 ml (3.4oz) shiitake-dashi from dried shiitake in water ((note 3))
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ⅔ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5-6 snow peas (blanched and sliced thinly diagonally (note 6))
Instructions
- 1
Wash rice until water runs clear. Soak the rice in water and leave it for 30 minutes.
- 2
Slice lotus roots 2mm (1/16") thick, then cut into 6-8 pieces (I cut them like pizza). Cut carrot into 3cm (1¼") lengths, then into 2mm (1/16") thick sticks.
- 3
Cut aburaage in half lengthwise. Place one strip onto the other and cut them into 4mm (3/16") wide strips perpendicular to the first cut. Slice konnyaku into 3mm (⅛") thick slices, then cut them into 3mm (⅛") thick short sticks.
- 4
Squeeze shiitake to get water out (preserve shiitake liquid). Remove and discard the stems, then slice shiitake thinly. If the shiitake is large, cut it in half, then slice so that each slice will not be too long.
- 5
Add the Seasoned Dashi Stock ingredients into a pan over medium high heat. When the stock starts boiling, add lotus roots, carrots, aburaage, konnyaku and shiitake mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes and turn the heat off.
- 6
Using a sieve, drain the liquid into a bowl and leave the vegetables and the liquid to cool down.
- 7
To cook mixture of sticky rice and short grain rice per the ingredients list, you will need 325ml (11.8oz) of liquid. Using a measuring cup, add all of the liquid collected in step 6 and adjust with water (if not enough) to make up to 325ml (11.8oz).
- 8
Drain the water from the rice as much as possible using a sieve and place the rice in a heavy bottom pot, spread the cooked vegetables over the rice (do not mix), then add the 325ml (11.8oz) liquid.
- 9
Place the lid on and cook as per the steps 5 & 6 of the instruction in How to Cook Rice the Japanese Way. (note 7)
- 10
Serve in a rice bowl with snow peas as garnish if using.