Sansai Gohan (Rice with Mountain Vegetables)
Sansai Gohan is a mixed rice dish filled with fresh, tender, fragrant mountain vegetables. Welcome the arrival of spring by enjoying a bowl of lightly seasoned mountain vegetable rice!
Servings: 4
Calories: 478kcal
Ingredients
- 1 kombu (dried kelp) (4 x 5 inches, 10 x 13 cm per piece)
- 2½ cups water
- 2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (3 rice cooker cups, 540 ml; see how to cook short-grain with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe)
- 1 piece aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) (0.7 oz, 20 g; you can substitute it with crispy fried tofu cubes from an Asian grocery store, but blanch them first to remove excess oil)
- 7 oz Sansai Mix (Sansai Mizuni)
For the Seasonings
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce (preferably light-colored (usukuchi) soy sauce; use GF soy sauce for gluten free)
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 2½ Tbsp mirin
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires 20 minutes of soaking rice time.Gather all the ingredients.
- To make kombu dashi - Add kombu in 2½ cup water. Let the kombu steep in water until ready to use.
- Rinse rice and soak in water for 20 minutes. If you’re using short grain rice, ALWAYS soak the rice before you cook. Then drain excess water well, making sure there is NO MOISTURE left in the rice. We do not want to dilute the seasonings.
- To remove the oil from aburaage, you can either pour boiling water over the tofu pouch in a sieve over the sink, or have a quick blanch over the boiling water in a small pot for 15 seconds (flipping 1-2 times).
- Cut the aburaage thinly.
- Drain the sansai mizuni in a sieve and quickly rinse with running water.
- In a rice cooker bowl, add the rice and seasonings (3 Tbsp soy sauce (usukuchi or GF), 2 Tbsp sake, 2½ Tbsp mirin, and ½ tsp salt).
- Then add in kombu dashi (remove kombu first) and mix well.
- Add the sansai mix and aburaage on top. Place in the rice cooker and start cooking. If you have a “Mixed Rice” option, use it (See Notes below).
- Once the rice is cooked, using a rice scooper, fluff the rice and combine well with ingredients. Serve in a rice bowl and enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.
Notes
Regular or Mixed Rice setting on rice cooker: The main difference is that the 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 an extra 5 min longer at the end before opening the rice cooker.
Nutrition
Calories: 478 kcal · Carbohydrates: 98 g · Protein: 10 g · Fat: 1 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g · Sodium: 870 mg · Potassium: 97 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 4 g · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 37 mg · Iron: 5 mg