Mame Gohan

Ingredients

• 15¾ ozRiceJapanese short-grain rice, washed and drained
• 2⅓ cupsWaterfor cooking the rice, standard ratio
• 3½ ozGreen peasfresh, shelled
• 1 tspSaltfor the rice, some for blanching the peas
• 2 tbspSakecooking sake, added before cooking
• ⅛ ozKombuone piece, removed after cooking
• 1 tbspMirinfor a lightly seasoned version (optional)
• 1 tbspSoy sauceusukuchi, barely colours the rice (optional)
• Pea podsyoung tender pods cooked along for colour and aroma, removed afterwards (optional)
• 12Kashiwa oak leavesfor wrapping the shaped rice triangles (optional)

Method

1. Shell the peas from their pods and rinse them briefly. If the pods are young and tender, set a few aside to cook along with the rice.
2. Wash the rice until the water runs more or less clear, drain it well, then let it soak in the measured water for about 30 minutes.
3. Add the salt and sake to the rice water, along with the mirin and light soy sauce if you're using them, and stir briefly. Lay the piece of kombu on top of the rice.
4. Either scatter the peas raw over the rice, or boil them first in lightly salted water until just tender, drain them and lay them on top. Add the reserved pods now if you have them.
5. Cook the rice in a rice cooker, or in a covered pot over medium heat for about 12 minutes; for a crust on the bottom, turn the heat up for the last 2 minutes.
6. Take the pot off the heat and let the rice steam, still covered, for 10 to 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
7. Remove the kombu and any pods, then fold the rice through gently with a rice paddle so the peas are evenly distributed.
8. If you like, shape the still-warm rice into triangular onigiri and wrap each one in a kashiwa oak leaf.

Tips and variations

Colour comes down to timing: boil the peas separately in salted water, cool them in cold water and stir them in only after the rice is cooked, and they stay bright green. Cooked raw with the rice they turn duller, but more pea flavour goes into the grains. If you want it plain, season with salt alone; sake, mirin and light soy sauce add a bit more depth without colouring the rice. Cooked in a pot rather than a rice cooker, you get a crisp crust on the bottom. Unusual but documented: the "Tutankhamun" pea variety, which tints the rice a faint wine red, served with salted broad beans. Serve the rice warm in bowls, or as oak-leaf-wrapped onigiri for a bento.