Cooked Rice with Chicken and Hijiki Seaweed

A highly fulfilling rice, chicken and vegetable meal.

Cooking time

30min+

Calories

364kcal

Sodium

500mg

Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Time to prepare and cook rice is not included in the cooking time.

Ingredients(Servings: 4)

Garnish with green laver if available.

Directions

Wash the rice and pour in a strainer. Set aside for 30 minutes. Soak the hijiki in water to soften.
Cut the chicken breast at an angle into 2 cm (3/4 in.) wide pieces.
Scrape the skin from the burdock root, cut into thin shavings. Soak in water for 2 minutes, then remove and dry. Slice the carrot into thin round slices, then each piece into quarters.
Heat the sesame seed oil in a fry pan, quickly fry (2). Add in (3) and stir fry together. Season with (A) and continue to cook and stir until the soup has almost completely evaporated.
Add (1) to a rice cooker and fill with the appropriate amount of water. Place (4) on top and cook as usual. Serve in a bowl.

Cooking Basics

White rice - how to cook

1.

Rinse off any rice bran from the surface of the rice and any rice starch that attached during polishing. As it causes oxidation and sliminess, and is readily absorbed by the rice, quickly pour out the first batch of water used to rinse the rice that is cloudy from the rice bran content. This process is made easier by using an all-purpose strainer and a bowl.

2.

Rinse the rice by stirring with your hand and then discard of this water. Repeat this step 2 to 3 times until the water becomes less cloudy. Be careful not to rinse too vigorously, as doing so will damage the rice grains.

3.

Leave the rice in the colander for about 30 minutes to absorb water.

4.

Place the rice into the inner pot of a rice cooker, add the indicated amount of water, and then steam.

Burdock root - peeling

Since the flavor of this root vegetable is located between the skin and the root itself, peel off the skin as thinly as possible. For recently picked and fresh roots in soil, a quick scrub with a natural bristle scrubber or vegetable brush is sufficient. For older roots that have become hard, scrape with the back of a kitchen knife to remove the skin. Burdock root has a high lye content. Cut and soak in water for about 5 to 10 minutes to remove excess lye. However if soaked for too long or if the water is replaced, the flavor also will seep out.

Burdock root - shavings

Scrape off the skin, lay a kitchen knife against the burdock root in a manner to start shaving off from the end and then proceed to shave off thin pieces. Have a bowl full of cold water ready to directly catch the burdock root shavings.