Quick-and-Easy, Tasty, Nutty Rice Pan
08 September 2009
I’m going on a little trip to Japan tomorow!
The opportunity to go back to Tokyo - in fact the first time since we moved away – has indeed come up sooner than I had expected; Simon has a bunch of business meetings there and I have the possibility to join. Although it’s for a few days only, and not quite the nicest of all seasons (still too hot and humid), I can hardly contain my excitement... Four days of meeting lots of friends; enjoying the fabulous restaurants; not being able to resist the temptation of eating a little "daifuku" in between (delicious little rice dough ball filled with sweet read bean paste); and having "macha frappuchino" at Starbucks (a yummy mixture of ice-blended powdered green tea)…
I will also have to go to the supermarket to re-stock a few common-use ingredients I have trouble finding here in Munich; that’ll mainly be a good supply of "hojicha" teabags (my favourite kind of tea - it’s sort of a roasted green tea with a really unique aroma), as well as a few packs of good quality soba noodles (not so convinced of those I’ve found in Munich so far).
For most other Japanese cooking ingredients I’m still doing fine, though – there are many things I can easily get hold of here in Munich, and also my kitchen cabinet is still full of various things I took with me when we moved. For example, I still have loads of black rice (I once bought it on a weekend trip to the Izu peninsula). I love its aromatic, nutty taste, and for me it is the perfect kind of rice to use in this quick-and-simple pan-fried rice dish; it combines extremely well with the similarly strongly tasting octopus as well as the dark sesame oil.
Of course, this recipe works with "normal" Japanese rice just as well – maybe then add some more of the pine seeds and/or some toasted sesame seeds to make up for the nutty taste? …
Pan-Fried Black Octopus Rice
| serves 4 |
| 360g (black) Japanese rice |
| 300g octopus arms, chopped |
| 2 small or 1 big aubergines |
| 1 big red pepper |
| 250g shiitake mushrooms |
| a hand full of pine seeds |
| 2-3 dents of garlic |
| some fresh basil |
| some dark sesame oil |
| soy sauce to taste |
Wash the rice and boil it. If you are using a rice cooker, the ratio of rice to water should be 4:5 (if you boil it in a normal sauce pan, you might need some more water). If you can’t get hold of the black rice, take normal Japanese rice.
In the meantime, chop the octopus into bite-sized bits. Clean and chop the shiitake mushrooms, the aubergines and the peppers and set aside.
When the rice is close to done, heat a bit of sesame oil in a frying pan and sear the octopus bits together with the mashed dents of garlic and the pine seeds while stirring energetically. Add the chopped vegetables and mushrooms and keep stir-frying for some 5-10 minutes. Pour in another generous dash of sesame oil and stir in the cooked rice; mix well and season to taste with soy sauce. Add some fresh basil to finish.
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