Okowa
{{short description|Japanese steamed rice dish}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Okowa おこわ (御強)
| image = File:Okowa Bento by Yonehachi, Takashimaya Singapore.jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption = Okowa bento
| alternate_name = おこわ (御強)
| type = steamed rice dish
| country = Japan
| national_cuisine = Japanese
| served = Room temperature
| main_ingredient = rice, meat or vegetables
| minor_ingredient = wild herbs (sansai okowa) and vessel chestnuts (kuri okowa)
| variations = Sekihan or Kowameshi
| similar_dish =
| cookbook = "History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in Japan, and in Japanese Cookbooks and Restaurants outside Japan (701 CE to 2014)", William Shurtleff, Akiko Aoyagi
}}
Okowa おこわ (御強) is a Japanese steamed rice dish made with glutinous rice mixed with meat or vegetables."Food and Wine Festivals and Events Around the World", C. Michael Hall, Liz Sharples, {{ISBN|1136402691}} It is sometimes combined with wild herbs (sansai okowa) and vessel chestnuts (kuri okowa).A Taste of Japan, Donald Richie, Kodansha, 2001, {{ISBN|4-7700-1707-3}} It is generally boiled glutinous rice blended with azuki beans to give it red color for festive look, made by boiling regular rice with azuki beans."History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in Japan, and in Japanese Cookbooks and Restaurants outside Japan (701 CE to 2014)", William Shurtleff, Akiko Aoyagi {{ISBN|9781928914655}}"Kibo ("Brimming with Hope"): Recipes and Stories from Japan's Tohoku", Elizabeth Andoh, {{ISBN|9781607743705}} Since okowa is meant to be eaten at room temperature, it is used to make onigiri for its capacity to be frozen well.
Etymology
The word Okowa in Japanese stems from a shortened form of Kowameshi (強飯, meaning "hard rice"). Sometimes, dishes made by blending different rice varieties is also known as Okowa.
History
Originally referred to plain glutinous rice made in steam, Okowa today refers to red rice called Sekihan. White steamed rice is called by another name.Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art
Cookery, Food and Drink Series", Shizuo Tsuji, {{ISBN|9784770030498}}
Variations
Okowa can be mixed with any kind of meat or vegetable. Some traditional accompaniments include sweet potato, pre-cooked chestnuts, and boiled bamboo shoots. Char siu pork, roasted duck or diced sausage are also common additions.{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8R8TAQAAMAAJ&q=Okowa+dish |title = Transactions of the Congress|year = 1925}}
Preparation
The ingredients used for making okowa rice balls include glutinous rice (short-grain), sesame oil, dashi, soy sauce, mirin, salt, ginger, chopped mushrooms and carrots, sweet potato, chestnuts, spring onions, cooked fish, and a sheet of nori. The rice is washed with water and is left to be drained for around thirty minutes. Rice is added along with the stock, mirin, sesame oil, salt, sake in a rice cooker, and it is left for another thirty minutes. Meat, vegetables, and ginger are added next, and the cooker is put to the short-grain rice setting. The lid is covered while using the saucepan and brought to the boil once before turning the flame to low for another twelve minutes. The flame is turned off, and the rice is steamed another for ten minutes. The rice is kept in the room temperature and shaped into small triangles or balls. Finally, the base of rice balls is wrapped with nori sheet.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/22/more-veg-less-sugar-kids-childrens-breakfast-lunch-dinner-snack-recipes|title=Four recipes to get your kids eating more veg and less sugar - Cooking with kids|first1=Phil|last1=Daoust|first2=Homa|last2=Khaleeli|first3=Dale Berning|last3=Sawa|first4=Zoe|last4=Cacanas|date=22 April 2017|website=the Guardian|access-date=6 November 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2016/10/14/food/kuri-nutty-staple-ancient-japan/|title='Kuri': The nutty staple of ancient Japan|first=Makiko|last=Itoh|date=14 October 2016|access-date=6 November 2018|via=Japan Times Online}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Japanese food and drink|state=autocollapse}}
{{Rice dishes}}