Osaka Mixed Rice (かやくご飯, Kayakumeshi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker, or a heavy pot with a tight lid
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with cloth for dashi
• •Rice paddle (shamoji)
• •Small saucepan for blanching konnyaku

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. That pale bloom on the surface is flavor, not dirt. Put the konbu in the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat. When the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides, lift the konbu out. Bring the water just to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and let the flakes sink for two or three minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine strainer and let it drip without pressing.

   Boiled konbu can turn the stock bitter and slick. Squeezed bonito flakes give up strong, oily flavors. Both mistakes cloud the clean dashi this rice depends on.
2. 2

   Wash the rice

   Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, and stir with your hand. Pour off the cloudy water and repeat until the water is much clearer, usually three or four rinses. Drain the rice in a sieve for ten minutes. Washing removes loose surface starch so the grains cook distinct and glossy, not gummy.

3. 3

   Prepare the additions

   Scrub the burdock, cut it into thin matchsticks, and soak it in cold water for five minutes, then drain. Cut the carrot to the same size. Squeeze the soaked shiitake dry and slice the caps thinly. Cut the konnyaku into short strips, then blanch it for two minutes and drain. Pour hot water over the aburaage, press it dry, and slice it thinly. These small preparations keep the flavors clean: burdock loses harshness, konnyaku loses its raw smell, and aburaage gives up excess oil.

4. 4

   Season the liquid

   In the rice cooker bowl or cooking pot, combine the drained rice with the usukuchi shōyu, sake, mirin, and salt. Add enough dashi to reach the normal 2-cup rice line, or use about 2 cups total liquid for stovetop cooking. Stir the rice once to distribute the seasoning, then level it. Seasoning goes into the liquid because the rice drinks it as it cooks; sprinkling flavor later only coats the outside.

5. 5

   Layer the kayaku

   Scatter the burdock, carrot, shiitake, konnyaku, and aburaage evenly over the rice. Do not stir them in now. Ingredients on top cook gently while the rice below takes in the liquid evenly. Stirring before cooking can make the rice cook unevenly, with hard spots where the grains are crowded by vegetables.

6. 6

   Cook the rice

   Cook on the regular white-rice setting, or bring the covered pot to a simmer over medium heat, then lower the heat and cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. That rest is not politeness. It lets the moisture settle back through the pot so the top grains and bottom grains finish together.

7. 7

   Fold and serve

   Open the lid and fold the rice gently from the bottom with a rice paddle, cutting through the grains rather than mashing them. The additions should be evenly spread, and the rice should look lightly tinted, not soy-dark. Serve in small bowls with mitsuba or scallion if you like. Leave a little height in the bowl and don't pack it down; rice needs air too.

Chef Tips

• •Use usukuchi shōyu for the Kansai character of this dish. It is saltier than dark soy, so do not add extra by habit. Its job is to season cleanly while keeping the rice pale.
• •Cut the kayaku small and keep the pieces similar. The rice should meet little flashes of burdock, carrot, mushroom, konnyaku, and aburaage in every bite, not stop for one large piece.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and the soaking liquid from dried shiitake. That is honmono from the temple kitchen side of the tradition, not a compromise. Strain the mushroom liquid carefully, since grit likes to hide at the bottom.
• •Do not use instant dashi here if you can help it. A powder may make a bowl salty, but this dish needs the round, quiet body of real stock because the rice carries every flaw honestly.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm it only enough to loosen it before using, since boiling dulls its clarity.
• •The shiitake can soak overnight in the refrigerator. Save the soaking liquid for a meatless dashi, straining it through cloth to leave any grit behind.
• •Leftover kayakumeshi keeps one day refrigerated. Rewarm it gently with a spoonful of water, or shape it into small onigiri while still slightly warm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)