Chameshi

Ingredients

• 13¼ ozriceshort-grain rice, washed and soaked for about 30 min (about 2.5 gō)
• ¼ ozgreen tealoose leaves such as sencha, fukamushi-cha or bancha; brewed strong as cooking liquid or finely ground and mixed in
• 2⅓ cupswaterfor brewing the tea or as cooking liquid
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 tbspsakecooking sake
• 2 tbspsoy saucefor the brownish version, with or without tea
• 1Kombuabout 10–15 cm, placed on top while cooking and removed afterwards
• 1¼ ozsoybeansdried, slowly dry-roasted in a pan; yellow or green soybeans
• 1 tbspsesame seedstoasted, optionally ground, to mix in
• 6⅓ ozSweet potatounpeeled, cut into 1 cm quarter slices, soaked in water for 30 min (optional)
• 8chestnutspeeled, cooked with the rice (optional)

Method

1. Wash and soak the riceWash the rice until the water runs almost clear, then let it soak for about 30 minutes and drain it well. If you're using the sweet potato, cut it unpeeled into 1 cm quarter slices and leave it in water for the same 30 minutes.
2. Dry-roast the soybeansPut the dried soybeans in a dry pan without any oil and roast them slowly over medium-low heat, shaking the pan now and then, until they smell toasty and take on a little colour.
3. Brew the green teaBrew the green tea strong with the water, or let it steep cold instead. Strain out the tea leaves.
4. Set up rice with the teaPut the rice in a pot or rice cooker and top it up with the tea to your usual cooking level. Add the salt and sake, plus the soy sauce if you want the brownish version, and give everything a good stir.
5. Add kombu and toppingsLay the piece of kombu on top and scatter the roasted soybeans over the rice. If you like, add the drained sweet potato or the peeled chestnuts as well, and don't stir again.
6. Cook the riceCook the rice in the pot or rice cooker as you normally would.
7. Fluff and let it restOnce it's done, take out the kombu, loosen the rice gently with a rice paddle, and let it rest, covered, for about 10 to 15 minutes.
8. Fold in sesame and serveFinally, fold in the toasted sesame seeds, ground first if you like, and serve the chameshi warm.

Tips and variations

For a clear green tea rice, let the tea replace the cooking water entirely and leave out the soy sauce. Skip the tea altogether and cook with just soy sauce, sake and kombu, and the chameshi turns brownish and savoury. You can also mix finely ground sencha into the finished rice instead of cooking it in. In autumn the sweet potato is a good addition; green soybeans with chestnuts work too. Some cooks add the sake only after cooking, just before the rice rests. Best of all, serve chameshi next to a pot of oden.