Salmon Takikomi Gohan

Salmon Takikomi Gohan is a dish that carries the scents and savory tastes of the sea into your ricebowl. In Japanese, it would be called Shake Takikomi Gohan. Sha-ke is pronounced ʃə kɛ, and not like a milk-shake. It requires some lead time, but is not manually intensive, nor does it require a significant amount of skill.

This dish is notable for having a good source of protien from the salmon, a good source of minerals and vitamins (from the kelp) while being easy to prepare. It is notably low on sodium, fat, and cholesterol.

Serves: 3-4 Prep Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

 * 3 Cups of Japanese (short grain) Rice.
 * 3 Tablespoons of Shoyu (Soy Sauce)
 * 2 Tablespoons of Cooking Sake
 * 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
 * (substitute cooking sake and sugar) 3 tablespoons of Mirin (Sweet Cooking Sake)
 * 1 3" x 3" sheet of Hoshi-Konbu (dried kelp)
 * 1 (or 2) Kirimi (cut) of Salmon.

A cup of rice is measured using the measuring cup in the rice cooker. The water should be done in the same way. Imperial cups are much larger than the rice measuring cups.

A kirimi is a cut of salmon approximately the thickness of the forefinger and the middlefinger.

Instructions
Take a bowl large enough to fit the sheet of kelp in. This may be the rice cooker bowl or the pot. Cut the sheet to fit if neccesary. Fill the bowl with 3 cups of water, the same amount the rice will be cooked in. Let the kelp be submersed. Let stand for 30 minutes. This will make the stock, and soften the kelp. DO NOT DISCARD WATER/STOCK

Use a pair of scissors or a knife to slice the kelp into thin strips as thin as you have patience for, approximately 1" long. Return kelp into the stock. Wash the rice to be cooked. For questions on how to cook Japanese rice, refer to the Rice (Japanese) entry. Drain water from rice. Place rice into the cooking container, add kelp and soupstock. Add in soy sauce, cooking sake, and sugar. Mix thoroughly, using your hand to ensure an even mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes while doing the next step.

Grill the salmon at high heat to sear the surface. Cook only enough to color the surface and make it crispy. Alternately, use a frying pan to sear the surface of the salmon. Ideally, use no oil. The salmon need not be thoroughly be cooked. This step is intended to add texture to the salmon, and bring out some of its scent.

Place cooked salmon on top of rice. It needs only to sit on the top. Cover, and begin the cooking cycle on the rice cooker. No time modification needs to be made on an electric cooker.

When cooker is finished, let stand for 5-10 minutes. Take the Shamoji (rice paddle) and use the edge to "cut" the salmon into the rice. Break apart the salmon (steamed, it should do so readily) as you mix it throroughly. Do NOT use the flat side to squish the rice and turn it into a featureless mush.

Serve and eat.