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Mame gohan
Rice with green peas
Mame gohan (豆ごはん): Japanese spring rice with fresh green peas and a hint of kombu
When the first pea pods arrive in Japanese greengrocers in April and May, home cooks from Kyoto to Tokyo make mame gohan: short-grain rice steamed with a strip of kombu and lightly salted, then folded through with sweet, bright green peas. It is eaten warm with miso soup and pickles, or pressed into onigiri for a spring picnic. A bowl gives about 9 g of protein, from the rice and peas, so serve it with tofu or an egg dish if you want a fuller meal; it is not a high-protein dish on its own. Many recipes add a splash of sake; this version leaves it out, so it is alcohol-free. The common mistake is cooking the peas with the rice from the start: they turn khaki and wrinkled. Here they are boiled separately and added at the end. Chef's tip: let the peas cool in their salted cooking water rather than draining them hot; they stay plump instead of puckering.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the peas
- 5 ½ oz fresh green peasshelled weight, from about 400 g pods; frozen peas also work
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rinse 16 oz Japanese short-grain rice in a bowl of cold water, swirling and draining 4–5 times, until the water runs almost clear. Drain, cover with 2 ¼ cups water in the rice pot and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 2: Stir 1 ½ tsp salt into the soaking rice and lay ⅛ oz kombu on top. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 13 minutes, without lifting the lid. (In a rice cooker, use the white-rice setting.)
15 minStep 3: Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water and 1 tsp salt to the boil, add 5 ½ oz fresh green peas and cook for 3–4 minutes, until just tender when you squeeze one. Take the pan off the heat and let the peas cool in the water: this keeps their skins smooth.
5 minStep 4: Turn off the heat under the rice and leave it covered for 10 minutes to steam. The grains should look glossy and every drop of water should be gone.
10 minStep 5: Remove the kombu. Drain the peas well, scatter them over the rice and fold them in gently with a damp paddle, cutting through the rice rather than mashing it. Serve warm, or at room temperature as rice balls.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 410 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 89 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mame gohan take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of japanese short-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
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