Three Ways to Cook Rice

Here are 3 distinctively different ways to cook and enjoy your rice. Remember, rice isn't just a substitute for potatoes as a side dish. Rice can be a meal or main entrée, and there are many ways to prepare it. These three recipes represent STEAMING, STIR FRYING and DEEP FRYING in tasty ways you may not have thought of.

Takikomi-Gohan, which means "simmered in rice", is where various ingredients are cooked into the rice as it is being steamed. This is slightly different from Maze-Gohan, which means "mixed rice", where ingredients are added just after the rice has been cooked by folding them into the rice. Both methods are excellent ways to enjoy fresh vegetables that will give your rice a delicate flavor, subtle texture and an earthy color. Try our recipe and experience a classic taste of Old Japan.

Yakimeshi is quite literally "fried rice", and is derived from the Chinese style of stir-fry cooking. It uses Japanese short grain rice and has been adapted to suit Japanese tastes. The classic Yakimeshi recipe uses egg, green peas, thinly sliced ham and does not use soy sauce, which leaves the rice white when served. Yakimeshi is almost an old fashioned term; in a Westernized coffee shop in Japan the same dish might be called a Pilaf. Our Curry Yakimeshi is a popular twist on fried rice and is also referred to as "Dry Curry", as opposed to the curry gravy style served on white rice.

Rice Croquettes are a popular deep fried Japanese dish, and they're versatile enough to stuff with anything from fish to cream cheese, and yes, fresh veggies as well. It's also a delicious way to use that leftover rice if you've made too much. The lightly crispy shell is the perfect complement to the fluffy rice inside.