Takikomi Gohan (Japanese Mixed Rice) (Video) 炊き込みご飯

Takikomi Gohan is a wonderful and comforting Japanese mixed rice recipe made with seasonal ingredients. It‘s a savory bowl of flavorful rice that‘s perfect to serve with simple meals. This recipe is also gluten-free!

One of the easiest ways to include more vegetables in your diet is to add vegetables to your rice. When your main course is a simple dish such as grilled fish, Japanese Mixed Rice or Takikomi Gohan (炊き込みご飯) brings up more flavors and varieties to the meal.

What is Takikomi Gohan?

Takikomi Gohan is a Japanese rice dish in which we cook short-grain rice with vegetables, mushrooms, seafood, or meat. We usually season it with Japanese stock (dashi) and soy sauce.

Depending on where you are/live in Japan, this dish might be called Kayaku Gohan (かやくご飯) or Gomoku Gohan (五目ご飯), 5-ingredient mixed rice, which is loosely translated because there are roughly five ingredients.

There is also a very similar dish called Maze Gohan (混ぜご飯). Unlike Takikomi Gohan where we cook the uncooked rice and other ingredients in the same pot, Maze Gohan is cooked rice mixed with cooked and seasoned ingredients.

Do any of these names sound familiar to you?

Takikomi Gohan Ingredients

What are good ingredients to put in your Takikomi Gohan recipe? Let’s start with the most basic one, which is today’s recipe.

Basic Ingredients

You can make a simple Takikomi Gohan with white rice, carrots, burdock root (gobo), konnyaku (a wobbly jello-like slab made of taro/yam), deep-fried tofu pouch (aburaage), and shiitake mushrooms. These are the most common ingredients that you expect to see in Takikomi Gohan.

If you use kombu dashi, this dish is vegetarian and vegan.

Some variations include chicken thigh or breast adding more flavors to the dish, and I’ve made today’s recipe with chicken thigh.

Popular Takikomi Gohan Ingredients

Besides the basic ingredients I mentioned above, these are other popular and seasonal ingredients used in Takikomi Gohan.

• Bamboo shoots – spring
• Beef (thinly sliced or scraps)
• Canned tuna
• Chestnuts (recipe) – fall
• Clams or Asari (あさり)
• Hijiki seaweed
• Matsutake Mushrooms (recipe) – fall
• Mushrooms – king oyster, maitake, shimeji, etc
• Pacific saury or Sanma (秋刀魚) – fall
• Peas
• Sweet potatoes

Japanese enjoy making different Takikomi Gohan depending on the season, and I’ll be sharing them on my blog in the future.

3 Tips to Make the Best Takikomi Gohan

Here are some important tips and techniques to remember when you make Takikomi Gohan.

1. Keep portion in control

I tend to add too many ingredients when I make this dish and it doesn’t feel like a rice dish anymore. So, keep in mind that the ingredients should be roughly 20-30% of cooked rice when it’s done cooking (eyeball this, it doesn’t have to be perfect). If you put too many of these ingredients, they will absorb all the liquid in the rice cooker and the rice will not cook properly.

2. Soak rice in water

It’s very important to soak rice after washing it. It will help the rice to absorb the flavors from the ingredients and seasonings. It will also help the rice become fluffier and tender.

After proper soaking, make sure to drain the water for at least 15 minutes. This is very important so that when you add to the rice cooker bowl, you won’t incidentally add any extra water that’s not called for in the recipe that could dilute the seasonings. Also, be sure not to drain too long because the rice will crack when it gets too dry.

You might think soaking the rice in the seasoning adds more flavor to the rice. But that’s not true. Soy sauce and other seasonings prevent the rice from absorbing water. Plus, the seasoning will separate into layers if you leave it too long. Therefore, it’s best to start cooking immediately after you add the seasonings and toppings.

3. Do not mix rice and other ingredients before Cooking

Make sure to mix the rice and ingredients together only after the rice is cooked. The rice gets cooked properly (due to the circulation of heat and water) when it’s cooked at the bottom of the rice cooker bowl (or even pot).

When you are adding ingredients on top of the rice, place hard ingredients like root vegetables first, then gradually to softer ingredients on top.

Immediately after Takikomi Gohan is done cooking, fluff up the rice with a rice paddle as if you are cutting the rice and then scoop over to gently mix the rice and ingredients all together.

Takikomi Gohan vs. Maze Gohan

Remember, Takikomi Gohan is the rice COOKED WITH ingredients. Maze Gohan is the cooked rice MIXED with cooked ingredients. Some of you might wonder which method is better, and here are my thoughts.

When you cook together, the rice absorbs more flavors from the ingredients. However, it also means that the ingredients are cooking for the same amount of time as the rice, so the ingredients can become harder and tougher.

Therefore, if you use ingredients that you want to keep tender and don’t want to lose the texture, I recommend cooking it separately and mix it with rice later. Scallops are a good example: they don’t need to be cooked for a long time. If you cook with rice, the scallops will overcook and become dry.

On the other hand, if the ingredients are dry (like hijiki seaweed and dried shiitake mushrooms) and it takes time for them to release the flavors, cook it together with rice. Also if the ingredients you use are flavorful, cook together with rice.

Do you have an Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker)?

No rice cooker? You can make Takikomi Gohan in your Instant Pot too! Check out the detailed recipe here: Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Takikomi Gohan.

Use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce for GF Takikomi Gohan

This Takikomi Gohan recipe can be easily converted to a gluten-free dish if you use gluten-free soy sauce.

Kikkoman offers this gluten-free tamari soy sauce. If you want to know more about this product, please click here.

If you’re gluten intolerant, check out my Gluten-Free Recipes for additional recipe ideas.

Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Takikomi Gohan (Japanese Mixed Rice)

4.67 from 90 votes

Takikomi Gohan is a wonderful and comforting Japanese mixed rice recipe made with seasonal ingredients. It‘s a savory bowl of flavorful rice that‘s perfect to serve with simple meals. This recipe is also gluten-free!

Print Pin

Video

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (or 2 rice cooker cups)
• ▢ 3 dried shiitake mushrooms (0.5 oz, 15 g)
• ▢ ½ cup water (for soaking the shiitake and making shiitake dashi)
• ▢ ⅓ package konnyaku (konjac) (3 oz, 85 g)
• ▢ 1 piece aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) (¾ oz, 20 g)
• ▢ 1 oz gobo (burdock root) (4 inches, 10 cm)
• ▢ 2 oz carrot (3 inches, 7.5 cm)
• ▢ 1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh (4.8 oz, 135 g)
• ▢ 1½ cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use the shiitake dashi you made from soaking the mushrooms plus standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
• ▢ 1½ Tbsp mirin
• ▢ 1½ Tbsp soy sauce

For the Garnish

• ▢ mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (or substitute green onion/scallion)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Prepare all the ingredients. For the Japanese short-grain rice, 1½ US cups or 2 rice cooker cups (360 ml, 300 g) of uncooked rice yields roughly 4 servings (3½ US cups, 660 g) of cooked rice.
  

To Prepare the Ingredients

• Wash 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice in a large bowl. Rice absorbs water very quickly when you start washing, so don‘t let the rice absorb the opaque water. Gently wash the rice in a circular motion, add water, and discard it. Repeat this process about 3–4 times.
  
• Let the rice soak in water for 20–30 minutes. Then, transfer the rice into a sieve and drain completely for at least 15 minutes. Tip: It's important to soak the short-grain rice. Why not soaking in the seasoning? Soy sauce and other seasonings actually prevent the rice from absorbing water.
  
• Soak 3 dried shiitake mushrooms in ½ cup water for 15 minutes. I place a smaller bowl on top to keep the mushrooms submerged in the water at all times.
  
• In a small saucepan, bring 2 inches (5 cm) of water to a boil. Place ⅓ package konnyaku (konjac) in the boiling water and cook for 1 minute to get rid of any odor. Transfer the konnyaku to a plate to cool. Add 1 piece aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) to the same pot of boiling water and cook for 1 minute. This removes the excess oil from the aburaage. Transfer the aburaage to a plate to cool. Discard the water.
  
• Scrape the skin of 1 oz gobo (burdock root) with the back of your knife. The earthy flavor and aroma of the gobo is right underneath the skin; therefore, you only need to scrape off the outer skin. Do not use a peeler. Then, make a cross incision at the thick end of the gobo about 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. This helps make shaving the gobo easier.
  
• Shave the gobo from that end while constantly rotating the root with the other hand, as if you were sharpening a pencil with a knife. Soak the shaved gobo in a bowl of water to prevent discoloration.
  
• Cut 2 oz carrot in half lengthwise and cut diagonally into thin slices. Then, cut the slices into julienned or smaller pieces.
  
• Cut the aburaage and konnyaku into thin small strips.
  
  
• Cut 1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh into ¾-inch (2-cm) slanted pieces. Hold your knife at 45-degree angle and slice the chicken. This sogigiri cutting technique gives the chicken more surface area so it will cook faster and soak up flavors quickly.
  
• Squeeze the liquid from the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and save the soaking liquid (this is called Shiitake Dashi). Remove the stems and cut the caps into thin slices.
  
• Strain the shiitake dashi into a bowl through a fine-mesh strainer to get rid of any dirty particles. In a measuring cup, add all the shiitake dashi plus enough additional dashi to make 1½ cups dashi (Japanese soup stock).
  

To Cook the Takikomi Gohan

• Now your ingredients are ready to cook.
  
• Place the drained rice in the rice cooker. Add 1½ Tbsp mirin and 1½ Tbsp soy sauce to the rice in the rice cooker pot.
  
• Pour the dashi and shiitake dashi mixture into the rice and mix well. Level the rice with your fingers or chopsticks.
  
• Next, place the chicken pieces evenly on top of the rice. Do NOT mix the chicken or other ingredients into the rice. (Tip: The rice won‘t cook properly if you mix in the ingredients at this stage. It won‘t absorb enough water and will end up with a hard texture.) Continue scattering the rest of the ingredients on top of the rice, starting with the hard ingredients and ending with the softer ingredients. Without mixing it all up, close the rice cooker lid. Tip: The seasoning will separate into layers if you leave it too long; therefore, it's best to start cooking immediately after you add the seasonings and toppings.
  
• Start cooking the rice. Use the Mixed Rice setting if your rice cooker has that option (see Notes below). Once the rice is done cooking, use a rice paddle to stir the rice and vegetables with a light slicing and tossing motion to distribute the ingredients evenly into the rice. The rice at the bottom of the pot gets slightly caramelized; this is called okoge and it‘s especially tasty.
  

To Serve

• Serve the rice hot or at room temperature. Sprinkle chopped mitsuba or green onion on top.
  

To Store

• You can keep the leftover rice in the freezer for up to a month. I don‘t recommend storing it in the refrigerator as the rice gets too dry and hard.

Notes

Regular vs. Mixed Rice setting on the rice cooker: The main difference is that the Mixed Rice setting will create caramelized rice called okoge on the bottom of the pot. The soy sauce in the seasoning for Takikomi Gohan always creates this caramelized okoge and many people enjoy eating this charred rice. If you don’t use the Mixed Rice setting, do not open the rice cooker for an extra 5 minutes,.

Nutrition

Calories: 371 kcal · Carbohydrates: 70 g · Protein: 14 g · Fat: 2 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 32 mg · Sodium: 405 mg · Potassium: 267 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 3 g · Vitamin A: 2376 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 29 mg · Iron: 4 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: mixed rice

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