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Neko manma
Rice with bonito flakes and soy
Neko manma: hot rice with bonito flakes and a few drops of soy, the humblest Japanese supper
Neko manma means 'cat's rice', a joking name for the bowl that people all over Japan make late at night or on the evening the fridge is empty: steaming rice, a handful of dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and a little soy sauce, stirred together. The flakes wilt and curl in the heat and give the rice a smoky, savoury flavour; some homes splash over the last of the miso soup instead. The mistake is drowning it in soy, which turns the flakes soggy and the rice salty; a teaspoon is plenty. Chef's tip: crumble the bonito between your fingers over the rice so the finer flakes melt into every grain.
- Total time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 1
Ingredients
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 spring onionthinly sliced
- ¼ nori sheet (optional)cut into strips
- ½ tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
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Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Warm 7 oz cooked short-grain rice until steaming. Freshly cooked rice is best; leftover rice must have been cooled quickly and chilled, and needs reheating until piping hot right through, about 2 minutes covered in the microwave.
3 minStep 2: Spoon the hot rice into a bowl, crumble over ⅛ oz bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and watch the flakes curl as they meet the steam.
Step 3: Drizzle with 1 tsp soy sauce, scatter over 1 spring onion, ¼ nori sheet and ½ tsp toasted sesame seeds if using, mix lightly with chopsticks and eat straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 270 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 57 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does neko manma take?
- About 5 minutes in total: 2 minutes to prepare and 3 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 1 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of cooked short-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
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