Taste of Japan and Sake Live vol.70

Products used in "Taste of Japan and Sake vol.70"

Broad Beans Okowa 

Okowa is a traditional Japanese dish of steamed glutinous (sticky) rice mixed with savoury ingredients. It is hearty and deeply flavourful, with rich umami from sake, soy sauce and shio kombu—salted, shredded soft kombu used here as a seasoning. In this recipe, frozen broad beans are used so it can be enjoyed all year round, though fresh broad beans can be used when in season without changing the recipe. Okowa is traditionally steamed to maximise the texture, but it can also be prepared easily in a saucepan by combining glutinous rice with sushi rice. You will need a small saucepan with a lid to make this recipe, or you can use a rice cooker.

Serves 4
150g    Japanese sticky rice (Mochi Gome)
150g    Sushi Rice
100g    Boiled and Salted Broad Beans (Frozen)
1 Tbsp    Shio Kombu
2 tsp    Soy Sauce
1 tsp    Salt
90ml    Cooking Sake
270ml    Water

Wash and soak the rice
1.    Begin by thoroughly rinsing the rice to remove any dust and residual bran clinging to the grains. Place the rice in a saucepan (or bowl) with roughly ½ cup of cold water. Gently swirl the rice in a circular motion about 20–30 times. Discard the cloudy water, rinse with fresh cold water, and drain. Repeat this process until the water runs clear, ensuring clean grains for cooking. Finally, drain the rice completely in a sieve.
2.    Return the drained rice to the saucepan. Add the sake, soy sauce, salt and shio kombu, and stir lightly to combine. Scatter the broad beans on top, making sure not to stir them in—the beans should remain on the surface.
3.    Cover with a lid and let the rice rest for 30 minutes.

Cook the rice
Bring the rice to a boil over medium–high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 12 minutes with the lid on. Turn off the heat and leave the rice covered for a further 10 minutes to finish steaming. Serve hot.