Kuri Gohan - Chestnut Rice

A popular autumn dish in Japan, this is a type of takigohan, where rice is cooked with seasonal vegetables.

Serves 4

Ingredients

300g Clearspring Sushi Rice
236g chestnuts
1tbsp Sake
1/2tbsp Clearspring Traditional Sea Salt
1tbsp Clearspring Soya Sauce
1 pinch Clearspring Green Nori Sprinkle

Method

1. Wash the rice and soak in water for 30 minutes, then drain.
2. Soak the chestnuts in boiling water for 5 minutes to make them easier to peel.
3. Make a cut in the bottom of each chestnut, then peel off the shell carefully. 
4. Roast the chestnuts lightly and the remove the inner skin which will now be crisper and easier to remove.
5. Place the rice, chestnuts and salt in a saucepan.
6. Pour the sake and shoyu into a measuring cup and then add enough water to reach a total volume of 360ml. Now add this to the saucepan. 
7. Bring to the boil on a high heat with the lid on. As soon as it reaches the boil, reduce to a low heat and simmer for 11 minutes. 
8. Remove from the heat, and leave for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with green nori sprinkle, then serve.

Chef

Atsuko's Kitchen

After months of travelling and teaching Japanese cuisine around the world, Atsuko has settled in London to run an authentic Japanese home style cooking course, Atsuko's Kitchen.

Her recipes and techniques come from her mother and grandmother, who were both inspiring cooks and passed on their passion and knowledge to her.

Her sensei (teacher) Mari Fujii taught Atsuko Shojin-Ryori, a Japanese Buddhist temple cuisine using creative methods to make dishes using only vegetable ingredients.

After seeing the world and taking on the different food cultures she came accross, Atsuko has chosen London for teaching Japanese cuisine based on five fundamental traditional seasonings.

"My enthusiasm for food has been even more developed in London, where there are many chances to meet a variety of cultures and learn about their foods. In comparison, Japanese dishes are simple and tasty, yet have become very popular. You can make hundreds of everyday meals with just five basic seasonings: shoyu, mirin, sake, rice vinegar and miso. The only difference is in the technique used when making the dishes."

Miles away from Japan, Atsuko's ambition is to re-create with her students the life and tastes of her mother's kitchen in Kyushu.

As well as teaching, Atsuko also caters regularly for private parties and cafés using her unique style of Japanese cooking.