Okowa
Steamed glutinous rice with meat, vegetables, or azuki beans.
Okowa (おこわ, also written 御強) is a Japanese steamed rice dish made from glutinous rice mixed with meat or vegetables. It is often combined with wild herbs (sansai okowa) or chestnuts (kuri okowa), and is commonly boiled with azuki beans to give it a red color for festive occasions. Because it is meant to be eaten at room temperature, okowa is frequently used to make onigiri, as it freezes well.
Quick Facts
- Country
- Japan
- National cuisine
- Japanese
- Served
- Room temperature
- Main ingredients
- rice, meat or vegetables
- Minor ingredient
- wild herbs (sansai okowa) and vessel chestnuts (kuri okowa)
- Variations
- Sekihan or Kowameshi
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Traditional accompaniments include sweet potato, pre-cooked chestnuts, and boiled bamboo shoots.
- Char siu pork, roasted duck, or diced sausage are common additions.
Preparation
To make okowa rice balls, you need glutinous short-grain rice, sesame oil, dashi, soy sauce, mirin, salt, ginger, chopped mushrooms and carrots, sweet potato, chestnuts, spring onions, cooked fish, and nori. First, wash the rice and let it drain for about thirty minutes. Then put the rice in a rice cooker with stock, mirin, sesame oil, salt, and sake, and let it sit for another thirty minutes. Add meat, vegetables, and ginger, then set the cooker to the short-grain rice setting. If using a saucepan, cover it, bring to a boil once, then lower the heat and cook for twelve minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice steam for ten more minutes. Let the rice cool to room temperature, then shape it into small triangles or balls. Finally, wrap the base of each rice ball with a sheet of nori.
More in Japanese Rice Dishes
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