Friday, April 24, 2009

Maze Gohan with South East Asian Flavorings


Maze Gohan is a low calorie alternative to fried rice. Basically if you have some cooked rice you can flavor it and mix it with anything and it's what the Japanese would call Maze Gohan.

This Maze Gohan features South East Asian flavors and Chinese sausages.

Ingredients

3 Cups Cooked Jasmin Rice (volume after it's been cooked)

2 Toasted Red Chili Peppers (chop these up finely)

1 Tsp Sichuan Peppercorn Salt

2 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Seeds (ground in a mortar so that some of it is crushed to release flavors)

4 Tbsp Toasted Coconut Flakes

1 Tbsp Toasted Rice (long grain)

1 Tsp Lemon/Lime Zest (prepared like in a Gremolata)

1/2 Leek (thinly sliced)

Fish Sauce (a sprinkling of it)

2 Chinese Sausages (sliced)

1 Clove Garlic (chopped finely)

Step 1: Cook some rice in your rice cooker. We used Jasmin rice for this one...or follow my tutorial and cook it the old-fashioned way!

Step 2: While the rice is cooking, toast the chili peppers and remove to a bowl. Then toast the sesame seeds then put in a mortar and grind them up a bit. Toast the long grain rice until they're nice and brown and then put them through a food processor so that they're about the consistency of coarse sand. I tend to make this in bigger batches because they store well.

Step 3: Chop the Chinese sausages and fry them with garlic in the same pan you used for toasting the sesame seeds and chili.

Step 3: Put the rice into a big serving bowl and mix with sausages and all the other ingredients. The saltiness will come from the fish sauce and Sichuan peppercorn salt so make sure it doesn't get too salty. Taste and make adjustments if necessary. Serve immediately.

Note 1: You might add lemon juice or lime juice if you like the tang of citric juices. If you love cilantro throw it in. Just be careful not to put too much because it will be overpowering. The flavors do have to be balanced.

Note 2:
You can basically season the rice with anything you wish in this way. A pretty traditional Maze Gohan would be made with lightly salted and par boiled fresh peas. You can mix grated Parmesan cheese into it if you wish. Use your imagination and use whatever flavors you think will taste good.

13 comments:

Meier Stamp Company said...
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Anonymous said...

Oh it sound so luscious... truth be told I am having a hard time finding Jasmine rice here at the local markets.... everything is short grain.

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Girl Japan: Short grain will work just fine for this. Besides making Maze Gohan with long grain is pretty unconventional! ;)

Siri said...

Yum....so is this a Murasaki Original recipe, or are you pairing some traditional ingredients here? Do you have any suggestions on other versions of this to make? I'm always trying to figure out what to do with my left over rice.

-Siri

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Siri: hmmm, this probably is kind of original. I mean there is probably nothing original under the sun anymore since human civilization has been around for this long but this isn't a traditional or authentic recipe at all. When making Maze Gohan I think one important thing is to use a lot of dry ingredients so that the rice doesn't get soggy or oily. Slightly salted boiled fresh peas mixed into rice is a pretty standard thing the Japanese do by the way. Other ingredients I've seen being used are things like: chestnuts, azuki beans, sesame seeds and other types of grains, i.e. barley for example. I'd experiment with herbs too. What about mixing in flakes of grilled salmon or pieces of smoked salmon and dill?

Trish said...

This is so unique...I love it!! I am always interested in trying something totally new...not just a version on the old if you know what I mean. This is terrific!

Lori said...

This sounds super tastey. I like all the flavors here.

Dewi said...

Wow Murasaki,
I learn quite bit from you. I love the idea of using left over rice, which I have very often. This Maze Gohan will completely agree with my taste bud. Sounds delicious, I'll be making it for our supper.
Cheers,
elra

Dorte said...

I trying to find inspiration for rice dishes and this one sounds like a good try - BUT what is special about chinese sausages?

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Dorte: I would just use any sausages you like with a slightly sweet flavor. If not fry the sausages in some sweet sherry first. Chinese sausages are more sweet. I think I would use some kind of Iberico sausage here because those seem to have the best flavor. :)

Dorte said...

Sounds good ... Thanks a lot :-)

Papa Chef Glenn said...

My daughteer Melissa Kimiko (a real Samurai Viking) directed me to this post. Maza Gohan is one of my favorite dishes, the fact that each person makes it a little different is always a treat. Perhaps some Lutefiske or some herring might be able to be worked in there. I know I have had it with dried whole little "shiner" type of fish. thanks for posting suchunusual dishes! And of course, thanks to my daughter Melissa for sending me here, I will be back!
Papa Chef Glenn

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Hi Glenn,

Thanks for stopping by. If you'd leave me a link to your blog, I'd like to visit yours too.

Lutefisk indeed might work. You should try it and let me know how it goes. ;)