Popular Takikomigohan Ranking

Takenoko Gohan 

The Asahi Shimbun ranks the most popular takikomigohan based on a recent survey. Takikomigohan is simple to make at home if you are in the practice of making rice. Simply add some ingredients to the pot, and possibly some seasonings like soy sauce and sake, and cook the rice as usual.

It's a lovely way to showcase seasonal ingredients like bamboo shoots in fall or mushrooms and chestnuts in autumn. It is notable that the most popular takikomigohan in this survey, gomoku gohan, is made with ingredients that are available all-year long.

While not on the top 20, some responders said that they liked to use unique seasonings like curry powder, sesame oil, or fish sauce.

Click on linked items below for recipes from this site.

1. Gomoku gohan (carrots, shiitake, deep-fried tofu, burdock root, konnyaku)
2. Kuri gohan (chestnuts)
3. Takenoko gohan (bamboo shoots)
4. Matsutake gohan (matsutake mushrooms)
5. Tori no takikomigohan (chicken, and vegetables)
6. Asari gohan (littleneck clams)
7. Kaki-meshi (oysters)
8. Tai-meshi (sea bream)
9. Guriin piisu gohan (green peas)
10. Sansai no takikomigohan (spring mountain vegetables)
11. Kinoko gohan (mushrooms)
12. Tako-meshi (octopus)
13. Hotate takikomigohan (scallops)
14. Satsumaimo gohan (sweet potatoes)
15. Azuki gohan (azuki beans)
16. Maitake gohan (maitake mushrooms)
17. Sake no takikomigohan (salmon)
18. Edamame gohan (fresh soybeans)
19. Shimeji gohan (shimeji mushrooms)
20. Shirasu gohan (boiled baby sardines)

Perhaps our favorite method in our home is grilled fish over rice, like this tachiuo-meshi.

Tachiuo Takikomigohan 太刀魚炊き込みご飯

Takikomigohan is a great way to change-up our usual routine of white rice. Simply grill a fish. Ideally a boneless filet or you'll have to deal with the bones later on. It's hard to see in this photo, but in the rice bowl there are small flakes of fish studding the rice.

Rinse the rice as usual. Add the water as usual. Then simply add the grilled fish to the rice pot. We used tachiuo (cutlassfish) for this takikomigohan. Add a little bit of salt to the pot and cook as you would normally cook your rice.

Before serving simply break up the fish and mix into the rice.

This works with a variety of fish. Usually we choose lean white fish like tai (sea bream) or a fatty fish like salmon. Even better when making salmon takikomigohan is to add some ikura to the rice after it is cooked.

You may also like:

Gomoku Gohan

Kinoko Takikomigohan (mushrooms)
Hotate Takikomigohan (scallops)

Salmon Pilaf

Putting grilled salmon into the rice pot is one of our favorite takikomigohan recipes. Especially when we have some ikura or sujiko in the house. But I wanted a change-up on our our standard salmon takikomigohan. This recipe is great if you find small bits and pieces of salmon for sale at your fishmonger.

In this version, I grilled the salmon and added it to the rice pot as usual (see recipe above). And, after the rice was cooked, flaked the salmon, removed any bones and the skin and returned the flaked salmon to the rice pot. This time I threw in some butter, salt, and pepper and incorporated the salmon into the rice. Easy and something that we'll make again and again.

Gomoku Gohan 五目ご飯

Changing up our routine of white rice I like to make takikomigohan. Rice steamed with toppings that are mixed into the rice after it has cooked. Some of my favorite takikomigohan are made with grilled fish like salmon or tai (sea bream). The salmon takikomigohan is especially nice when topped with ikura. Most important is to grill the fish before adding it to the rice pot to rid it of its fishiness.

Julienne the fillings. Here I have used (clockwise from top left) gobo (burdock root), abura-age (deep-fried tofu), konnyaku, carrots, and rehydrated hoshi shiitake (dried shiitake).

Here is the master recipe I use for rice, from Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga of Nihonbashi Yukari. Most important here is his technique for rinsing and measuring the rice to determine the amount of liquid needed.

3 cups of rice
100 ml soy sauce
50 ml mirin
1 tsp. salt
water (as needed by using Chef Nonaga's recipe)

After rinsing the rice add to your rice pot. Top with julienned fillings. Add liquid and salt. Cook rice as usual. Stir up the rice pot after cooking to incorporate the fillings.

Key point here is that the amount of liquid remains the same as if you are making white rice. Just substitute some soy sauce and mirin. I also sometimes like to add a splash of sake. Another option is to add some sugar. Just be careful as the rice pot may scorch so monitor the heat carefully.

Takikomigohan is a free for all. Many different ingredients can be used including chicken, hijiki, kiriboshi daikon (dried daikon strips), mushrooms like maitake or shimeji, kombu, and much more.

Kinoko Takikomigohan きのこ炊き込みご飯 Mushrooms and Japanese Rice

Who doesn't love a change-up? So many times in our house it is white rice for dinner. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Especially when our table is topped with a variety of dishes that call out for a simple rice that can go with any food. However, sometimes I get the urge for some variety in our rice pot. Takikomigohan is quick and can often be made with whatever leftover bits of vegetables are in the house. The rice is still washed and made the same. The only difference is that some vegetables are put in the rice pot at the end, and a bit of soy sauce, sake, and mirin are included with the water for steaming.

And the rewards are lovely. Mushrooms cooked with the rice bring a nice earthiness to the dish. The soy, sake, and mirin season the rice lightly. The following recipe from Chef Nonaga is the best I have found for cooking rice.

Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga's rice recipe.

Takikomigohan
2 cups of rice
150 - 200 grams of chopped Japanese fresh mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, shimeji, etc.)
1 Tbsp. each of soy sauce, mirin, sake
pinch of salt

Wash the rice as normal and put into rice pot. Top with mushrooms. The amount of liquid to add to the pot is as usual, just substitute in 1 Tbsp each of the soy sauce, mirin, and sake for some of the water. Add a pinch of salt to the pot and cook as usual.

Garnish with mitsuba or toasted sesame seeds (optional).

Feel free to add other ingredients like carrots, abura age (deep-fried tofu), or konnyaku. Chicken can also be added, just be sure to cut into bite-size pieces first. If adding seafood like fish (salmon), be sure to cook the fish first, ideally grilled.

Other takikomigohan recipes:
Scallops Takikomigohan
Salmon and Ikura Takikomigohan
Clean the Fridge Takikomigohan