‘Takikomigohan’ is a Japanese dish of Rice that is cooked with other ingredients and seasonings. There are some very traditional ones and this is one of them. To cook a ‘Takikomigohan’, everything is supposed to be cooked together, but you won’t cook Clams with Rice together for this particular dish. You cook Calms in a frying pan first. You will have some delicious liquid from Clams and you use it to cook Rice. Clam meat will be mixed with Rice after it is cooked. It’s a very simple dish, yet absolutely delicious.

Makes

4 Servings

Ingredients

400g Clams OR ‘Pippi’
1 cup salted Water *1 cup Water & 1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Sake (Rice Wine) *You can replace 1/2 of it with Water
2 cups (180ml cup) Japanese Short Grain Rice
1 & 1/2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 & 1/2 tablespoons Mirin
1 small piece Ginger *grated OR finely chopped
1 Spring Onion *finely chopped

Method
  1. Clean Clams and place them in a deep plate or container in a single layer. Pour over Salted Water, set aside in a cool place for 1-2 hours, and let them spit out the grit. *Note: Some store-bought Clams are ready to use without doing this process.
  2. Clean the Clams with fresh water before you cook them.
  3. Place Clams in a frying pan, add Sake (Rice Wine), cover with a lid, and cook over medium heat until all Clams are open.
  4. Remove all Clams to a plate and place all the liquid in the pan into a measuring jug. Add Water up to 400ml marking. Add Soy Sauce and Mirin, and mix well.
  5. Wash Rice, drain, and place in rice cooker’s inner pot. Pour the Soup over, scatter Ginger, and press the Cook/Start button. When the rice is cooked, let it steamed for 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, remove Clam meat from the shell and place in a small bowl. You may wish to sprinkle with a very small amount of Soy Sauce, then set aside.
  7. When Rice is steamed, add Clam meat, and gently mix to combine. Sprinkle with some finely chopped Spring Onion and serve.