web mame gohan

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LESSON ONE
Rice Cooked with Edamame (recipe on page 142)
豆ご飯 Mame Gohan
fresh green peas
This rice dish is prepared in the taki-komi style. TAKI-KOMI refers to the use of a
flavored liquid (instead of water) to cook the rice; the liquid is produced by cooking one
or more ingredients in seasoned stock. The liquid is strained and measured to use when
cooking the rice. Typically the foods cooked to produce the flavored liquid are then
tossed in to the cooked rice dish. The result is somewhat like a pilaf, or paella.
If you
will be cooking your rice in a thermostatically controlled appliance it is ESSENTIAL that
the flavored liquid be allowed to cool to room temperature before adding it to the rice
cooker.
The original Mame Gohan receipe on page 142 calls for edamame, fresh green
soybeans. They are a summertime staple in Japan (most are consumed as beer
snacks!). Increasingly they are available worldwide, flash frozen. The word mame
means “pea” or “bean” and various mame (see suggestions below) can be used to
make this dish. The version pictured here makes use of green peas, freshly shelled
from their pods. I have adjusted timing, and seasonings accordingly.
[left] fava beans (sora mame, in Japanese)
[center] edamame fresh green soybeans
[right] fresh green peas
© Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Elizabeth Andoh.
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LESSON ONE
Wash and drain raw rice as indicated in the original recipe. Allow the rice to drain for at
least 20 minutes (and up to several hours) until it is opaque -- that tells you the grains of
rice have already absorbed moisture. Moist rice will absorb more of the flavorings from
the liquid, and become tender without stickiness.
[left] dashi (yellow-capped container), [2nd from left] usukuchi shoyu
[3rd from left] mirin, [right] regular soy sauce
MAKING the PEAS and FLAVORED COOKING LIQUID:
For every cup of raw rice, I suggest you use about 1/4 cup shelled fresh peas (probably
weighing about 6 ounces in their pods).
Place 1 cup dashi or other stock in a small
saucepan and place the shelled peas in the cold liquid. Season with 1 teaspoon mirin
(syrupy rice wine), 1/2 teaspoon usukuchi shoyu (light-colored soy sauce) and 1/4
teaspoon regular soy sauce. Slowly, over low heat, bring the seasoned liquid to a boil. If
you have an otoshi-buta (“dropped lid,” pictured below) use it to keep the peas covered
in the scant liquid (this will avoid excessive wrinkling). Or, improvise with a circle of
cooking parchment cut slightly smaller than the saucepan so that the paper sits directly
on the peas.
© Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Elizabeth Andoh.
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www.WASHOKUcooking.com
LESSON ONE
Adjust heat as needed to maintain a steady, but not vigorous boil. Cook for 1 minute
with the lid in place. Remove, and allow the peas to cool in the seasoned liquid. Strain,
reserving peas and liquid, separately. If need be, add plain water to the seasoned liquid
to cook the rice. Follow instuctions on page 142 to cook and serve the rice.
peas simmering in seasoned stock with otoshi-buta lid
rice covered with seasoned liquid BEFORE cooking
© Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Elizabeth Andoh.
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