Kamameshi is rice cooked in a cast iron pot along with a flavored broth and some other goodies. It’s similar to takenoko gohan and takikomi gohan , except the pot it’s cooked in encourages the bottom layer of rice to lightly burn (known as “okoge” in Japanese), giving it a nice flavor reminiscent of rice crackers.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a kama (iron pot) and I imagine most of my readers don’t either, so I made this using a small Le Creuset (enameled cast iron pot). You could probably use any heavy bottomed pot with a lid you have as long as it’s not teflon.
The rice cooks with a sweet soy sauce flavored broth and is topped with a layer of mitsuba (which I talk about more in this post ) and unagi while it steams. After it’s all done, I mix it all together before serving which helps integrate all the flavors.
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Units
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 1½ cups short grain Japanese rice (2 rice cooker cups)
- ⅓ cup bamboo chopped Japanese (takenoko)
- 1 ⅔ cups dashi stock
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup mitsuba roughly chopped
- 1 package unagi grilled (eel)
Instructions
- Rinse the 1½ cups short grain Japanese rice by filling the bowl containing the rice with cold water then draining and repeat until the water is almost clear. Drain the water using a colander.
- In a heavy iron pot with a lid, bring the 1 ⅔ cups dashi stock , 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar , 1 tablespoon mirin and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to a boil.
- Add the ⅓ cup bamboo and rice and let it return to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low, cooking until you don’t see any more steam escaping, about 15 minutes.
- Add the ¼ cup mitsuba and 1 package unagi on top of the rice, turn off the heat, cover and allow it to steam for 10 minutes.
- Break up the unagi and fold it into the rice then serve immediately with some Japanese pickles.
Nutrition Facts
Unagi Kamameshi
Equipment
- 1 Heavy Bottomed Pot
- 1 Spoonula
Ingredients
- 1½ cups short grain Japanese rice (2 rice cooker cups)
- ⅓ cup bamboo chopped Japanese (takenoko)
- 1 ⅔ cups dashi stock
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup mitsuba roughly chopped
- 1 package unagi grilled (eel)
Instructions
- Rinse the 1½ cups short grain Japanese rice by filling the bowl containing the rice with cold water then draining and repeat until the water is almost clear. Drain the water using a colander. 1½ cups short grain Japanese rice
- In a heavy iron pot with a lid, bring the 1 ⅔ cups dashi stock , 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar , 1 tablespoon mirin and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to a boil. 1 ⅔ cups dashi stock, 1 tablespoon mirin, 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Add the ⅓ cup bamboo and rice and let it return to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low, cooking until you don’t see any more steam escaping, about 15 minutes. ⅓ cup bamboo
- Add the ¼ cup mitsuba and 1 package unagi on top of the rice, turn off the heat, cover and allow it to steam for 10 minutes. ¼ cup mitsuba, 1 package unagi
- Break up the unagi and fold it into the rice then serve immediately with some Japanese pickles.
