Satsuma-imo gohan (Sweet potato rice)

Our school has started again, so we spend our days in the classroom and/or in the library. This means that we normally don't have time to eat lunch at home. Therefore, we bought some nice lunch-chopsticks with holders, and have started making a lot of bento-meals. So, from now we will probably start sharing some of our favourite take-with-us recipes.

  Usually we prepare these meals before we go to school, so they have to be real easy and quick to make. This recipe, Satsuma-imo gohan or sweet potato rice, is exactly that. You only need a rice cooker and some time to wait until it is finished cooking.

Satsuma-imo are Japanese sweet potatoes, with a purple skin and yellow-ish inside. It has a really nice, sweet taste. We have even seen (and tasted) it as a ice cream flavour!

Japanese sweet potatoes (Satsuma-imo)

Ingredients (2p):

• White rice for 2 persons
• 2 average sized sweet potatoes
• 3 tbsp mirin
• topping: sesame seeds

We have seen recipes for this meal using different kinds of rice, but since we normally only have plain white style rice we just use that and it tastes good! However, for some variation in taste, you can try making it with (combinations of ) different kinds of rice.

Wash the sweet potatoes and cut them in small pieces. Put the rice in the rice cooker, and place the sweet potato pieces on them. Add water (just use the amount you would normally use for the amount if rice) and the mirin (3 tbsp) then cook as usual.

Sweet potatoes cut into small pieces

The rice (below, not visible on photo) with potato pieces on top and with water added to cook

When it has finished cooking, divide into two portions and place on a plate or put in your lunch-box. Add sesame seeds on top for the finishing touch (in both look and taste!)

Result when rice cooker has finished cooking

Easy, and delicious!

Satsuma-ima gohan - Sweet potato rice

Okayu

Recently we discovered some new functions on our (already so useful) rice cooker. We can now use it to make even more recipes in a very quick and easy way!
The recipe we want to share today is Okayu, or Japanese rice porridge. We found it is incredibly easy to make using the 'おかゆ'-setting (okayu), or porridge-setting for international cookers. This traditional Japanese recipe is usually made by parents to give to their children when they are sick. However, adults also make it for themselves when they feel under the weather. The porridge can also be eaten as a Japanese-style breakfast, and we have found it makes a very good start of the day.
Right now we are studying for our Japanese tests and we like to make this recipe to eat while studying. It makes for a nice, filling meal: gives you energy but easy to digest.

Ingredients (2p):
(for basic okayu, lots of variations possible!)

• 1 cup rice
• 5 cups water

Wash the rice thoroughly and put it in the rice cooker, then add 5 cups of water. Put the rice cooker on 'okayu'-setting and just turn on.
From our experience it takes our cooker approximately 1 hour to finish cooking. However for the best result and taste, it is better to let the rice (when the rice has finished cooking) stand for a while in the still warm rice cooker. When we make this recipe for breakfast, we turn the rice cooker on before we go to sleep, so when we wake up it is finished and ready to eat!
Then, just divide it into two cups and enjoy! This time we added a little sugar on top, to give it a little sweetness.

Japanese Okayu

There are lots of great variations possible for this recipe, we keep trying and experimenting with different ingredients and toppings, and will share our results later!

Mushroom Rice (Kinoko Gohan)

The first recipe we want to share with you, is Japanese mushroom rice (Kinoko gohan). We just tried this recipe ourselves last weekend and loved it! It is very easy to make, takes a little preparation time and after that you just wait till you can enjoy a nice meal.

Ingredients (2p):

• mushrooms (300 gr)
• 6 tbsp soja
• 4 tbsp mirin
• white rice for 2 persons (1 cup of rice, makes 2 cups of rice serving)
• dashistock (we use instant-dashi powder)

You can use any variation of mushrooms for this recipe. This time we used Bunashimeji and Shiitake, but the recipe tastes very good with different kinds of mushrooms too.

The Bunashimeji (right) and Shiitake (left) used in the Mushroom Rice

Preparation

Cut the mushrooms into smalls pieces and put them in a big bowl. Add the soja (6 tbsp) and mirin (4 tbsp) to the mushrooms and firmly mix together.

The result of the mixed mushrooms with soja and mirin

In the meanwhile, wash the rice as normal. Take the amount of water you will need to cook your rice (This will depend on the rice you are using. Typically, this will be in the ratio 1 cup of rice: 2 cups of water) and mix this with the dashi-powder. We used a small tbsp amount of dashi-powder to get the desired light-brown coloured water.

Put the rice and the dashistock (the result of water mixed with the dashipowder) in the rice cooker. Add the mushroom evenly on top of the rice, and cook the rice as usual. The nice smell of mushrooms will soon fill your kitchen while you're waiting for your meal to finish cooking.

The mushrooms added on top on the rice in the rice cooker

When finished, mix the rice and the mushrooms together and divide on plates. Optionally, it tastes very good seasoned with sesame seeds.

 

The finished Mushroom Rice, enjoy!

It tasted very good, and makes for a great lunch or light dinner. It's also very easy to put in a bento (lunch) box, to take with you and enjoy some place else.