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Rice bowl containing sweet onion takikomi gohan.
4.58 from 7 votes

Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan

Caramelized sweet onion, seasoned with soy sauce and mirin, this simple Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan is flavorful and aromatic rice to accompany your next Japanese meal.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Total Time1 hr 10 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: japanese rice, mixed rice
Servings: 4
Calories: 320kcal
Author: Namiko Chen

Ingredients

  • 2 rice cooker cups uncooked Japanese short-grain rice (180 ml x 2 = 360 ml; yields roughly 4 servings/4 US cups)
  • ½ sweet onion
  • 2 tsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc.)
  • ⅛ tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
  • mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (or green onion/scallion to garnish)

Seasonings:

Instructions

  • Gather all the ingredients.
    ingredients for sweet onion takikomi gohan on wood cutting board
  • Rinse rice until water is almost clear. Soak in water for 30 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve for 15 minutes.
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 1
  • Thinly slice the onion. I cut the onion against the grain so the onion keeps the texture after cooked.
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 2
  • In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and pinch of salt and sauté onion until they are tender.
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 3
  • Add mirin and soy sauce.
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 4
  • Continue to sauté until the sauce is thickened.
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 5
  • Add the drained rice into the rice cooker and pour the sauteed onion including sauce.
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 6
  • Add the water up to “2 cup line” on the inner bowl and click start to cook. If you have a “Mixed Rice” option, use it (see Notes below). 
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 7
  • When rice is finished cooking, chop mitsuba into small pieces and fluff up the rice with a rice scooper. Serve the rice and garnish with mitsuba.
    Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan 8

To Serve

  • You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month.

Notes

Regular or Mixed Rice setting on rice cooker: The main difference is that Mixed Rice setting will create burnt rice called “Okoge” on the bottom of the rice cooker. Takikomi Gohan (mixed rice) always have the burnt rice from soy sauce in the seasoning, and many people enjoy the burnt charred rice. If your rice cooker doesn’t have the mixed rice option, steam extra 5 min longer at the end before opening the rice cooker.

Nutrition

Calories: 320 kcal · Carbohydrates: 64 g · Protein: 6 g · Fat: 2 g · Saturated Fat: 2 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g · Sodium: 279 mg · Potassium: 111 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 4 g · Vitamin A: 1 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 11 mg · Iron: 3 mg