Takikomi Gohan Bento

Takikomi Gohan, a traditional Japanese rice dish, combines vegetables, mushrooms, and meat. Translated as “cooked with rice,” this dish features ingredients cooked together with rice, resulting in a flavorful one-bowl meal. Root vegetables like carrots, daikon radish, and burdock are commonly used due to their ability to withstand the cooking process. For added umami, aburaage (twice-cooked tofu), yam noodles, and mushrooms are incorporated.

Seasoning and ingredients for Takikomi Gohan vary regionally. In my childhood, the dish was seasoned simply with soy sauce, relying on the meat and root vegetables for richness of flavor.

In Japanese cooking, Maze Gohan involves mixing ingredients with cooked rice, while Takikomi Gohan entails cooking rice and ingredients together. This recipe falls somewhere in between, with ingredients cooked separately.

The recipe presented is a rendition passed down from my mother, who learned her culinary knowledge during her extended stay in Kyushu, Japan from 1970 to 1989. It holds fond memories from my childhood.

Living in the United States, I often serve Takikomi Gohan as a quick lunch accompanied by fried eggs and kimchi. Alternatively, it can be transformed into a cute Bento with Tamago-yaki and green beans in sesame sauce, both classic Japanese dishes. Takikomi Gohan maintains its freshness in the refrigerator for up to four days, making it an ideal meal preparation option.

Takikomi Gohan

Takikomi Gohan is a traditional and comforting Japanese rice dish prepared using an assortment of vegetables, mushrooms, and meat.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword homestyle cooking, japanese food, rice dish

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Reconstitute driend mushrooms in cold water 2

Cost $15

Equipment

1 rice cooker

Ingredients

2 cups rice: short or medium grain Japanese rice
1/4 pounds ground pork or chicken
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 cups total of: Chopped dried shiitake or maitake, carrots, daikon radish, abura-age, itokonnyaku (yam noodles) all cut into small pieces
1/4 cup light or regular soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water, dashi, or water from reconstituting shiitake mushroom
splash mirin or sugar-optional
Goma Shio for serving

Instructions

Reconstitute shiitake mushroom in about one cup of water-do this couple of hours before starting to cook.
Gather ingredients.
Wash rice and set it on a calendar to drain excess water. Set it aside.
Cut carrots, daikon radish, abura-age, reconstituted shiitake mushroom, and yam noodles into small pieces, almost as small as rice grain. See picture.
Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat and add sesame oil. Cook the pork (or chicken) until almost cooked through then add the vegetables.
Add soy sauce and a splash of mirin (optional) and cook for a couple of minutes. Add 1 cup of water (or Dashi) and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Set a colander over a bowl and empty cooked vegetable and meat onto the colander. Make sure to catch all the liquid from cooking.
Measure the cooking liquid and add enough water to make 2 ½ cups.
In a rice cooker add washed rice and the measured liquid, and salt. Soak for 15-30 minutes.
Cook rice according to the rice cooker. When it reaches the end of cooking, add the cooked ingredients on top of the rice, and put the cover back on for the steaming part of the cycle.
After 10 minutes or so of steaming time, mix the rice, vegetables, and meat together.
Sprinkle it with Goma Shio (sesame salt) and serve warm. Enjoy!