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Wakame gohan
Wakame gohan (わかめご飯): steamed rice mixed with salty crisp wakame and sesame, for onigiri
Wakame gohan is the green-flecked rice that turns up in Japanese school lunches and convenience-store onigiri: plain rice mixed with salted, toasted wakame flakes and sesame. At home you make your own seasoning in five minutes from a pack of dried cut wakame. The common mistake is soaking the wakame first, which gives slimy rice; it should go in dry and crisp so it softens only with the rice's steam. Chef's tip: shape onigiri with wet, salted hands while the rice is hot, then cool them fast on a plate before wrapping for the lunchbox.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
- ⅛ oz dried cut wakameabout 2 tbsp
- ½ tsp salt
- 14 oz cooked Japanese short-grain ricefreshly made and hot
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Toast ⅛ oz dried cut wakame in a dry frying pan over a low heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until it is brittle and smells of the sea. Do not let it brown.
3 minStep 2: Crush it finely with your fingers or in a mortar with ½ tsp salt, then mix in 2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds.
Step 3: Sprinkle over hot 14 oz cooked Japanese short-grain rice and fold through with a wet rice paddle, cutting rather than stirring, until evenly flecked.
Step 4: Shape into 4 onigiri or pack into a bento. Cool quickly (spread on a plate for 10 minutes) before closing the box, and eat within the day.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does wakame gohan take?
- About 10 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 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.
- What can I use instead of toasted white sesame seeds?
- Poppy seeds or finely chopped pumpkin seeds, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cooked japanese short-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
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