Soboro Gohan そぼろご飯 (Minced Rice)

Soboro Gohan | Nourish SF

This is one of my favorite Japanese comfort foods. It's called soboro gohan, and typically has three toppings: Ground meat, sake scrambled eggs and greens.
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It's what I've been making for my friends with new babies. It's great for new mamas since it is full of protein! It's also a great weeknight recipe, since it's simple to make and makes a decent amount of leftovers for another dinner or lunch the next day.

Soboro Gohan そぼろご飯 (Minced Rice)

Serves: 4

Name of image (title of post is fine)

Ingredients – for the Rice:
  • 3 cups of white rice

Ingredients – for the Ground Chicken:
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sake
  • 1 pound chicken thighs, ground (ask your butcher to grind the thighs for you. Trust me, it's worth the extra effort in place of breast meat, which is more readily available in packages)

Ingredients – for the Eggs:
  • 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 6 medium eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/2 tablespoon sake
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Ingredients – for the Greens:
  • 2 bunches of hearty greens (I like to use kale, rapini or broccolini- any greens work, really), washed and roughly chopped.

Instructions:
  1. To cook the rice: Wash rice thoroughly in cold water, drain and follow rice cooker instructions to cook.
  2. To cook the eggs: In a large mixing bowl, whisk all the egg ingredients together.  Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat, scramble eggs with chopsticks, letting them set slightly first. Set aside in a bowl. 
  3. To cook the chicken: In the same pan you used to cook the eggs, wipe any remaining eggs with a paper towel and oil the pan again over medium heat. Add soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake to the pan. When the sauce comes to a boil, add the chicken. Using a wooden spoon, quickly break up the chicken while it cooks. Once cooked through, spoon out the chicken using a slotted spoon.
  4. Add greens to the pan the chicken was in, with juices from the chicken for flavor, and stir until cooked through (over medium heat). For heartier greens, this will take about 5 minutes. 
  5. Place hot rice at the bottom of a bowl. Place a strip of chicken on one side of the bowl (see photo above). Next to that, add a stripe of greens, finishing with a stripe of eggs. Serve with shichimi tongarashi, Japanese 7-spice mix.
  6. *When delivering food to new mamas, I always place everything in Tupperware containers I don't need back. I include a note that says: "Heat through, mix, and enjoy! And this Tupperware is yours to keep. xo Kristin"

Head here to visit our Modern Heirlooms web shop, where I've thoughtfully co-created ritual objects with my favorite artisans (in limited runs) to help you elevate your sacred rituals. 

I truly believe that cuisine is the most accessible gateway into learning more about our rich heritages. In addition to food, there are so many ways to celebrate, honor, and even reclaim, our time-honored traditions. I believe ritual objects really help anchor us in these moments-- especially around the table.

RecipesKristin PosnerComment