Yesterday I looked in the fridge...thought about getting takeaways...then thought "nah" I'll just make takikomi gohan. Everyone appreciates it (including my wallet) and it will do onigiri for tomorrow's lunchboxes as well.
Now I know you have gone out and bought your Essential Ingredients, so making this will be like child's play. This recipe has peas, carrots, take no ko (bamboo shoots), chicken, konnyaku, and shiitake mushrooms...but you can try anything you like in it really, whatever's seasonal (or left in your fridge). I like using prawns if I don't have chicken, or you can omit meat altogether for a great vegetarian dish.
And the beauty of this recipe is there is very little prep required, it's just too easy.
3 C rice
4 T soy sauce
1 sachet of dashi stock
2 T sake/ ryorishu
1-2 chicken thighs chopped into bite size pieces or prawns
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 small carrot chopped
1/2 small can bamboo shoots (you can drain and freeze the other half or use in a stir fry)
1/2 packet of konnyaku chopped
2 dried shiitkae mushrooms (soaked and sliced) or a handful of sliced dried shiitake mushrooms
First wash your rice and fill to just below the appropriate line with water (to make way for the other liquid ingredients).
Add the sachet of dashi, ryorishu and soy sauce and stir through.
Chop the carrots into quarters and then thin slivers, the bamboo shoots into smaller pieces, and the konnyaku into small slivers. Add all remaining ingredients to the rice (you don't need to mix) put the lid on your cooker and turn it on.
Once cooked, stir through to mix all the ingredients together and serve. Shape any left over rice into onigiri (rice balls) for tomorrow's lunch...EASY :)
