Japanese Mixed Rice

Introduction

Japanese mixed rice, Takikomi Gohan is a comforting Japanese mixed rice dish made by cooking rice together with chicken, vegetables, seasonings, and kombu. The rice absorbs the natural umami from the ingredients as it cooks, creating a deeply savory flavor without instant stock or additives. It’s a simple, traditional-style Japanese home-cooked dish that works beautifully as part of an everyday meal.

Ingredients

[Servings : 3-4]

• Rice: 2 cups
• Chicken thigh: 150 g
• Carrot: 50 g
• Burdock root (gobo): 100 g
• Kombu: 2–3 small pieces

Seasonings

• Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
• Sake: 2 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp

Optional meat-free version

• Skip the chicken
• Aburaage (fried tofu pouch): 1 sheet, thinly sliced

Instruction

1. Rinse the rice and place it in the rice cooker.
2. Lightly season the chicken with a small pinch of salt.
3. Add the soy sauce, sake, and sugar to the rice cooker.
4. Add water up to the 2-cup line and gently stir.
5. Add the chicken, carrot, and burdock root over the rice.
6. Place the kombu on top.
7. Cook using the regular rice setting.

Tips

• Place the ingredients on top of the rice rather than mixing them in before cooking so the rice cooks evenly.
• Kombu adds natural umami without the need for instant dashi powder.
• Gently mix the Takikomi Gohan after cooking so the ingredients are evenly distributed without crushing the rice.