Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan is a savory Japanese mixed rice dish with burdock root and carrots. Here, I add miso to the soy sauce-based seasonings to bump up the umami factor. Enjoy this delicious mixed rice in place of white rice at any meal.

Miso is a well-known seasoning that we add to Japanese soup, salad dressing, fish, chicken, and more. However, did you know that you can add miso to rice as well? Let me show you how I use fermented soybean paste to add savoriness to mixed rice in my delicious Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan recipe!
Table of Contents

What is Takikomi Gohan?
Takikomi gohan (炊き込みご飯) is a Japanese mixed rice dish typically seasoned with soy sauce and other savory seasonings. In Japan, we add different kinds of vegetables, meat, and mushrooms depending on the season. This way, we can enjoy the food each season offers and get extra nutrition instead of just plain white rice.
People are always creative about the ingredients they add to takikomi gohan. Today, I added gobo (burdock root) and leftover fish cake called chikuwa. I seasoned it with miso this time because the savory taste goes really well with both ingredients. If you’re tired of just plain rice, I hope you will add my Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan recipe to your repertoire!

Ingredients You’ll Need
This simple recipe requires a short list of ingredients. It’s easy to customize, too!
- Japanese short-grain rice
- water — you can substitute it with dashi (Japanese soup stock) for extra flavor and umami
- gobo (burdock root)
- chikuwa (fish cake) — or substitute a different protein like chicken, aburaage, or tofu
- carrot — try different vegetables like shiitake mushrooms, peas, or shio kombu
- miso — I use koji miso or awase miso
- soy sauce, mirin, and sake — vary the seasonings with salt, sesame oil, or the condiments of your choice
- yuzu kosho (Japanese citrus chili paste) — optional, for serving
- shredded nori seaweed — for garnish
How To Make Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan
This staple of Japanese home cooking is so easy to make in your rice cooker!
- Wash the rice and drain it well. Add the drained rice to the inner pot of a rice cooker. If you don’t have one, you can use a pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe. You can see my Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan recipe to see the method I use.
- Prepare the ingredients. Peel, thinly slice, and soak the gobo. Cut and thinly slice the carrot and chikuwa. Mix the seasonings in a small bowl.
- Add the seasonings, water, and ingredients on top of the rice in the rice cooker. Do not mix them into the rice. Close the lid.
- Cook. Then, gently mix and serve hot!

3 Cooking Tips for Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan
- Thinly cut the ingredients so they cook through faster and become tender. This works best when pairing with tender and moist Japanese rice. If you leave the ingredients chunky, they will stay firm and won’t match the soft texture of the cooked rice.
- Add the seasonings to the rice first, then add enough water to reach the correct water line on the rice cooker’s inner pot.
- Do not mix the vegetables and chikuwa into the rice before cooking. Scatter all the ingredients on top so that the rice cooks evenly.
How To Store
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the freezer for a month. I prefer freezing the takikomi gohan since cooked rice gets hard and dry when refrigerated. You can read more about it in my tutorial How to Store Cooked Rice.
Mixed Rice Dishes You’ll Love
There are many delicious variations of Japanese mixed rice. Try some of my recipes, or customize your own!
- Takikomi Gohan (classic Japanese mixed rice)
- Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan
- Hijiki Rice (takikomi gohan with dried seaweed)
- Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan
- Matsutake Gohan (wild pine mushroom rice)
- Kuri Gohan (chestnut rice)
- Ginger Rice


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Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (3 rice cooker cups; yields 6⅔ cups (990 g) of cooked rice)
- 1 gobo (burdock root)
- 1 carrot
- 2 pieces chikuwa (fish cake)
For the Seasonings
For Serving
- yuzu kosho (Japanese citrus chili paste) (optional)
- shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori) (to garnish)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Rinse 2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice until the water is almost clear. If you‘re not sure how to rinse the rice properly, see the rinsing section of my tutorial How to Make Rice. Drain well in a fine-mesh strainer, shaking off the water out. Transfer to the inner bowl of the rice cooker. Tip: If you don‘t have a rice cooker, see how to cook short-grain rice with a pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
- Peel 1 gobo (burdock root). Cut it in half lengthwise, then thinly slice it diagonally.
- In a medium bowl, soak the gobo in water for 15 minutes to prevent it from changing color. Change the water a few times and drain well.
- Peel 1 carrot. Cut it in half lengthwise and slice thinly. Cut 2 pieces chikuwa (fish cake) into thin pieces.
- In a small bowl, combine 4 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 Tbsp miso, 2 Tbsp mirin, and 1 Tbsp sake and mix well. Pour the seasonings into the rice cooker.
- Mix well, and then add water up to the 3-cup line on the inner bowl.
- Add the gobo root, carrot, and chikuwa on top of the rice. Do not mix together with rice. Rice cooks evenly when it‘s not mixed with other ingredients. Place in the rice cooker and start cooking. If you have a Mixed Rice option, use it (see Notes below).
- When the rice is done cooking, wait 10 minutes before you open the rice cooker to allow it to finish steaming. Mix well and serve the Takikomi Gohan with yuzu kosho (Japanese citrus chili paste) for spicy taste and garnish with shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori).
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the freezer for a month. I prefer freezing the cooked rice to refrigerating it. You can read more about it in my tutorial How to Store Cooked Rice.
Hi Nami,
Thanks so much for this recipe! I just finished eating a bowl of it and it was absolutely delicious. I winged it with the ingredients, using what I had on hand: chicken thighs, cabbage, carrot and dried daikon and shiitake mushrooms. Such an easy and satisfying meal…especially in a Zojirushi. 🙂 Thanks again!
Hi Karen, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Nami and the JOC team are so happy to hear you enjoy the Takikomi Gohan.☺️
If I want to cook this on the stove without a rice cooker, is the water to rice ratio 1:1? If not, what is the rice to water ratio.? Thank you.
Hi Joyce,
We recommend using a 1:1.1 ratio, but 1.1 is the total amount of the liquid. So you have to subtract the number of liquid seasonings from this number to find the water amount.
For example, 3 rice cooker cups of rice (3 x 180 ml = 540 ml) needs 540 ml x 1.1 = 600 ml liquid (7 Tbsp of liquid seasoning x 15 ml + 495 ml water), and make sure to soak the rice in this liquid for 15~20 minutes before you start to cook over the stove.
We hope this helps!
Thank you for the water to rice ratio information. I want to try the stovetop method of cooking this time, as last time I made your takikomi gohan in my “old fashion” rice cooker and much of the seasoning was located on the bottom of my rice pot below the perforated plate. I have all the ingredients, so I will be making this very soon. I have tried many of your recipes and have enjoyed them all.
Hi Joyce,
It is our pleasure!
Please make sure to mix the water, liquid seasoning, and rice well when you soak the rice. And mix one more time before you place the vegetables on top of the rice.
Thank you for trying many of Nami’s recipes!🙂
Hi Nami,
Will be the same if I just use regular jasmine rice, since I don’t have japanese short grain rice. Please post more takikomi gohan 🙂 its just make making lunch for the kids the nest day easier.
Hi Julie! Jasmine rice to me has certain fragrance and once it’s cooked, it has pretty obvious smell to it. It goes well with other cuisine, but to me, it doesn’t go with Japanese food so I don’t use it for Takikomi Gohan. Jasmine rice also separated and they don’t stick each other… and I think takikomi gohan works great with stickier Japanese rice (don’t get confused with “sticky rice” – that’s glutinous rice, not the same as steamed rice). 🙂
Hi, I don’t have this rice cooker. Can I use regular setting on a regular rice cooker?
Hi Clara! I apologize for my late response. Yes, that’s okay. 🙂
Hey Nami, I can’t wait to try this recipe but I don’t think I can get my hands on any gobo root. I was wondering what other things you put in?
Thanks!
Hi Rachelle! There are many things you can add – almost anything. For meat, I like adding chopped chicken thigh pieces (cut smaller so you don’t have to eat big chunk). I like adding all kinds of mushrooms such as shiitake, shimeji, etc. For veggies, satsumaimo (japanese yam), green onions, onion, corn, green peas, anything that goes with miso flavor. Fish cakes and aburaage (deep fried tofu pouch) add nice flavor too. I’m not sure how easily these ingredients are accessible, but you can add your favorite ingredients that work with this flavor. No specific rule, but keep it simple with 2-3 (at most) ingredients. Make sure the ingredients compliment to each other. Depending on the ingredient, adjust the miso amount as you don’t want to overwhelm the plain flavored ingredients. Hope this helps. 🙂
Hi Nami, love your recipes and beautiful blog. I started my first Japanese cooking when I bumped into your blog few months back and now terriyaki salmon, pork rolls, Saba, miso soup are our family favourite dishes. Keep it up ! Can you let me know how to cook this takikomi gohan with chestnut ?
Hi Ann! Thank you for your comment! I’m so happy you started to cook Japanese food! 🙂 I’ve been waiting to buy nice chestnuts (I only see very small kinds, and they are not so good…). Every year I look for good quality ones but hard to find. :/ If I find them, I’ll make chestnut rice and hope to share it. It’s kind of hard to write a recipe in a comment. Wish me luck to get good chestnuts this year! 🙂
Hi Nami, I made this over the weekend and it was definitely a nice change to plain rice! I really liked the balance of salty, sweet and even slightly bitter from the burdock. And, I can’t possible complain about the extra nutrition :). Thanks!
Hi Janice!
Thank you so much for trying this recipe. I’ve been planning to update the horrible picture but I haven’t had the chance to replace it.
I appreciate your time to write me your feedback, and thank you so much!!!