Rice Cooker Recipe - Japanese Style Steamed Rice with Shio Kombu (塩昆布の炊き込みご飯)

If you're familiar with Japanese food, then dried kelp/kombu shouldn't be a stranger since it's widely used in many Japanese dishes. Shio kombu/塩昆布, on the other hand, is thin strips of dried and salted kombu. While the regular large pieces of kombu can be quite tough in texture, shio kombu turns soft easily when in contact with moisture, and is often used as a condiment or seasoning.

Some of the popular recipes using shio kombu are cold dishes, stir fry veggies, rice balls, and even pasta. As for now, let's start with this no fuss steamed rice recipe.

Japanese style steamed rice with shio kombu -

Ingredients (3 to 4 portions)?

• 2 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup loosely packed shio kombu
• 1/2 small carrot
• 1 sheet fried tofu skin (soft kind)
• 1/4 cup broad beans (can be substitute with edamame or other types of green peas)
• 1 small pack shimeji mushroom

How?

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add in the soft fried tofu skin, just a quick dip. Drain and pat dry the tofu skin with a kitchen towel. Use the same pot and bring some more water to a boil, blanch the beans then set aside for later use. Slice the tofu skin into shorter strips. Peel and cut the carrot into thin strips. Discard the shimeji mushroom stems and separate into individual strips -

If the shio kombu seems pretty long in length, give it a few chops or cut with scissor -

Prepare the uncooked white rice, gently wash it if needed. Add two cups of rice and two cups of water to a rice cooker. Top the rice with carrot, tofu skin, mushrooms, and lastly, the shio kombu. Press the start button and just let the rice cooker does its job, can't get any easier - 

The veggies might appear too much at first, but it'll all wilted down after steaming. Once ready, gently fold the ingredients so the veggies and rice incorporate together. Add the blanched beans on top before serving -

The salt on the kombu does most of the seasoning, since it supposed to be a light and healthy dish. You can serve the rice with pickled vegetables. Grilled fish/pork in miso sauce and baked salted salmon are some other delicious matches.

One best thing about this recipe - easy cleaning. No oil splashing in the kitchen and no heavy residual smell to worry about. 


Other Asian rice recipes:

• Chinese sausage rice - double the pleasure using spicy sausage and goose liver sausage
• XO sauce- straight up condiment, noodles seasonings, how about some tasty fried rice?
• Clay pot chicken rice with 20 days old pickled daikon (goodies from Kyoto, Japan)
• Uni and crab fried rice, pampered with extra fresh uni on top
• Pomelo is in season now - a nice addition to seared chicken leg rice
• A new type of Japanese rice balls, not onigiri, but "onigirazu" (おにぎらず)
• High quality beef trimmings - seared beef, kimchi, and egg yolk donburi 
• Self indulgence - SRF rib eye steak with daikon oroshi donburi