Japan · 70 min · Meat · Main course · For beginners
Takikomi Gohan
In German: Gewürzter Reis mit Rindfleisch, Knoblauch und Butter · In English: Beef Garlic Butter Rice
For 4 servings · US units
One-pot rice with beef, garlic and butter, finished with fresh shiso
Takikomi gohan means the rice, the toppings and the seasoned liquid all cook together in one pot, so every grain takes on the flavour. Here thinly sliced beef, garlic and butter meet soy sauce, sake and mirin — a hearty weeknight dinner that the rice cooker more or less makes on its own. Shredded shiso at the end cuts through it all with something fresh and clear.
Ingredients
- 10½ ozriceJapanese short-grain rice, washed and drained (2 go)
- 5¼ ozBeefthinly sliced, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 clovesgarlicroughly chopped or grated
- ½ ozbuttercooked with the rice or folded in at the end
- 2 tbspsoy saucebase seasoning for the cooking liquid
- 2 tbspfor seasoning the rice liquidJapanese rice wine, used in cooking mainly to round out flavours, tame fishy notes and add umami.Substitute: Dry sherry or Chinese Shaoxing wine come closest but bring their own stronger flavour; mirin is not a substitute because it is distinctly sweet.Read more
- 1 tbspfor mild sweetnessSweet Japanese rice wine for cooking that gives sauces and glazes a mild sweetness and shine.Substitute: Sake or dry sherry with some sugar, about one teaspoon per tablespoon, comes close; sweetness and shine are roughly right, but the rounded, slightly malty depth of mirin is missing.Read more
- ½ tspJapanese-style stock granulesInstant stock made from dried bonito flakes, usually with kombu, salt and flavour enhancers, sold as granules or powder; dissolved in hot water it becomes Japan's basic stock.Substitute: The best replacement is homemade dashi from kombu and bonito flakes, which tastes more delicate and less salty, so you will need to season more. Kombu alone, or kombu with dried shiitake, makes a fish-free stock but lacks the smoky note. Supermarket chicken or vegetable stock is not a real substitute: the dish stays edible but no longer tastes Japanese.Read more
- saltto taste
- waterfill to the 2-go mark, counting the seasoning liquid
- 4finely shredded, as toppingAromatic leaves of a Japanese herb in the mint family, fresh and spicy, somewhere between mint, basil and anise.Substitute: There is no true substitute, because the aroma is unique. A mix of fresh mint and basil captures the freshness but not the spicy, anise-like note; Korean perilla leaves come closer but taste coarser and more sesame-like, and are tougher in texture.Read more
- roughly cut, alternative topping (optional)Japanese wild parsley with three-part leaves and long, tender stems, fresh and slightly bitter, somewhere between parsley, celery and angelica.Substitute: Flat-leaf parsley with a little celery leaf comes closest in flavour, but tastes coarser and grassier; the cool, slightly resinous note and the tender stems are missing. There is no true equivalent, so use it sparingly so the parsley does not dominate.Read more
- Peppercoarsely ground, to finish (optional)
- 7 ozMushroomstorn into clusters, cooked with the rice (optional)
Method
- Wash and soak the riceWash the rice in cold water until the water runs more or less clear, drain it, and let it sit for about 30 minutes to drain and soak.
- Prep the beef and herbsMeanwhile, cut the beef into bite-sized pieces, roughly chop or grate the garlic, and shred the shiso leaves finely — or cut mitsuba into rough lengths if you're using it instead.
- Optionally sear the beefIf you want more roasted flavour, briefly fry the garlic and beef in a pan first until lightly browned in spots, then let them cool a little.
- Season the rice and add waterPut the drained rice into the rice cooker's inner pot, add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, dashi powder and salt, and top up with water to just under the 2-go mark — the seasoning liquid counts towards that level.
- Layer the toppings on topStir briefly, level the rice, and scatter the beef and garlic loosely over the top; add torn clusters of shimeji and maitake if you like. Don't stir the toppings in, or the rice will cook unevenly.
- Cook in the rice cookerStart the rice cooker on the standard setting and let it run through completely.
- Fold in butter and fluffOnce the rice is done, fold in the butter and fluff the rice with the rice paddle so the beef and cooking juices are evenly distributed.
- Garnish and serveServe in bowls, top with the shredded shiso or mitsuba, and add coarsely ground black pepper to taste.
Tips and variations
The butter can also go into the rice cooker before cooking rather than being folded in at the end. Instead of beef, thinly sliced pork belly, chicken wings or chicken breast work well, as do canned scallops. For extra body you can add mushrooms, carrot, cherry tomatoes, green beans, dried daikon, or a gobo-and-carrot mix with aburaage. To take the seasoning in another direction, swap the dashi for a stock cube or chicken stock powder, use straight dashi broth in place of the water, add a little sugar and oil to the seasoning mix, or fold in yuzu kosho after cooking; curry powder mixed with yoghurt makes a good marinade for the meat. With fried onions and butter in the rice cooker you get a biryani-style version that's good with tomato wedges and coriander. Serve it straight from the pot into warmed bowls and scatter the fresh herbs over at the table.
Allergens
Contains: Fish, Cereals containing gluten, Milk (including lactose), Soybeans
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
