How to cook perfect Japanese rice in a pan, every time
Gohan is the magic word
Gohan means steamed rice, but is also the collective word for 'meal' in Japanese.
When the cook in the family announces that dinner is on the table, we say 'Gohan yo~' ('yo' as in 'yolk')
Breakfast is 'asa gohan' (asa means morning) Lunch is 'ohiru gohan'' (ohiru is midday) Dinner is yoru gohan' (yoru is night). So you can see how important and integral 'gohan' is for the Japanese language :)
Uncooked rice is referred to as 'kome' ('me' as in 'men'), and 'gohan' is the steamed fluffy aromatic version that is served with your grilled eel, katsu curry, chicken yakitori, or any wonderfully flavourful Japanese dish.
What do we need to cook rice?
Most Japanese households own a rice cooker, suihanki, 炊飯器. It is the most common appliance to prepare rice with.
Rice cookers come in many variations, some with all sorts of fancy settings but all promise one thing; perfect textured rice every time without fail.
If there is no rice cooker in your kitchen, do not worry. We're sharing an easy way to prepare delicious rice in your saucepan with lid- yes, lid is the key 🗝
How to cook perfect rice in a pan (with lid)
1. Wash rice
300g of uncooked rice and wash 2,3 times until water becomes clear
2. Cook rice - three easy steps!
- Put washed rice in your pan add 400ml of water, place lid and cook over strong heat and let it boil for 10 minutes
- Turn heat to the lowest setting and cook for 10-15 minutes
- Turn off heat completely and let it sit for 10 minutes with the lid on
Ta-da!
Works every time!
300g of uncooked rice should make around 700g of fluffy gohan, which should roughly feed 3-4 people.
We say 10-15 minutes on low heat because everyone has a slightly different ideas when it comes to a 'perfect' bowl of gohan. Some like it mushy, some like it firm. So please try various lengths to find your favourite texture.
Where to buy high grade Japanese Rice
We hear you. The short answer is 'here!'
The long answer... Some of you may not have Japanese rice in your home, and may not have a Japanese grocery in your neighbourhood. More over, how do you know which brand to buy? There's so many out there!
Fret no more! We offer an easy solution. After tasting various brands of rice and experimenting differing simple cooking methods, we selected one brand that we are confident will be an excellent accompaniment to all our dishes.
Niigata koshihikari rice is aromatic and has a well balanced sweetness. Freshly steamed, the platinum grains shine delightfully, inviting that salmon marinated in shio-koji, miso-marinated black cod, angus beef gyudon, or salmon ochazuke... mmm 😋
Looking for a nutritional upgrade?
Japanese rice is short grain and when cooked, typically has a slightly chewy and sticky consistency with a creamy texture that matches with Japanese cuisine in a way no other rice can.
If you're looking to add a bit of structure and extra vitamins, why not try our special multi grain mix?
Our special blend of mixed grains is easy to add to everyday rice, upgrading it with an instant boost of minerals, vitamins and fibre to make a nutritious side dish.
So's blend includes fibre-rich brown rice and barley, black rice with plenty of anthocyanin, buckwheat packed with rutin, sorghum rice that is rich in magnesium... that adds a wonderful texture to plain white rice.
If you have any rice questions, let us know!
We'd be overjoyed to hear from you 🍚