Japanese Beef and Rice (Beef Takikomi Gohan)

Method11 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Use a rice cooker for this route. Wash all 360 ml raw short-grain rice gently with water and drain; repeat 4–5 times until the water is nearly clear. Put the drained rice in the inner pot and fill with fresh water to its short-grain two-cup mark (two 180 ml cooker cups). Remove 50 ml of that water. If your cooker does not include water absorption in its selected cycle, soak for 15 minutes before cooking; otherwise the standard cycle includes this phase.

   Uses 360 ml raw short-grain rice (two 180 ml rice-cooker cups) · Water for washing the rice, as needed; discarded · Water for the rice-cooker short-grain two-cup mark, adjusted for the beef sauce in the method

2. 2

   Step 2: If the very thin beef slices are large, cut all 120–150 g into roughly 4 × 7 cm pieces.

   Uses 120–150 g very thinly sliced wagyu beef

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Heat all 1 tsp oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

   Uses 1 tsp oil

4. 4

   Step 4: Add all 10 g minced ginger to the heated oil from step 3 and fry for about 30 seconds. Then add all the sliced beef from step 2.

   Fry the minced ginger · 1 minUses heated oil in the frying pan · 10 g ginger, minced · complete batch of thinly sliced beef

   
5. 5

   Step 5: Sauté the ginger and beef from step 4, separating the slices, until most of the beef has browned.

   Uses beef and ginger in the frying pan

6. 6

   Step 6: Add all 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin and 1 tbsp cooking sake to the sautéed beef from step 5. Bring the sauce to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat.

   Uses sautéed beef and ginger · 2 tbsp soy sauce · 2 tbsp mirin · 1 tbsp cooking sake

7. 7

   Step 7: Drain all the cooking sauce from step 6 into a measuring cup, keeping the beef and ginger in the pan. Expect about 50 ml sauce. If it is less, add just enough water to make 50 ml. If it is more, keep all of it and remove the excess above 50 ml from the rice-cooker water prepared in step 1.

   Uses beef with its cooked seasoning sauce · A little water only if needed to bring the drained beef sauce to 50 ml · Rice-cooker water, adjusted further only if sauce exceeds 50 ml

8. 8

   Step 8: Pour all the measured sauce from step 7 into the prepared rice and water from step 1. Mix gently until the liquid is evenly colored.

   Uses washed rice in adjusted cooking water · complete measured drained beef sauce

9. 9

   Step 9: Spread all the reserved beef and ginger from step 7 gently over the surface of the seasoned rice from step 8.

   Uses rice in evenly seasoned cooking liquid · reserved cooked beef and ginger

10. 10

    Step 10: Close the rice cooker and cook the beef-topped rice from step 9 using its short-grain rice program, until the rice is tender and the beef is fully cooked. If the cycle does not include a covered resting phase, leave the lid closed for another 10–15 minutes after cooking; otherwise let the cooker finish its included rest.

    Uses beef-topped rice and seasoned cooking liquid

11. 11

    Step 11: Turn the fully cooked rice from step 10 over gently from the bottom with a rice spatula, allowing excess steam to escape and distributing the beef and ginger evenly. Serve hot in six rice portions.

    Uses fully cooked beef takikomi gohan