Amami Chicken Rice. A visually appealing rice dish with broth for hospitality - Weekend soup rice

It is read as "Keihan," not "Torimeshi." While one might imagine seasoned rice or a yakitori bowl, this is an elegant soup-based rice dish where shredded steamed chicken, sweet-simmered shiitake mushrooms, and thin egg strips are beautifully arranged over rice, and chicken broth is poured over it.

This dish was born as a form of hospitality. It is said that it gained popularity after the Emperor and Empress enjoyed it when they visited Amami during their time as Crown Prince and Princess. Although it is a local dish of Kagoshima, my mother, who was from Oita, used to make this chicken rice from time to time.

Ingredients: Serves two
Steamed chicken (1 breast) (*1)
Sweet-simmered dried shiitake mushrooms: 2 pieces (*2)
Thin egg strips: 2 eggs (*3)
Chicken stock: 2 cups
Salt: a little
Shredded nori, pickles, pickled ginger, etc.: as desired
Rice: as desired

1.
Shred the steamed chicken by hand. Lightly squeeze the liquid from the sweet-simmered dried shiitake mushrooms and slice them thinly. For the thin egg strips, use one egg per sheet. Pour the beaten egg into a lightly oiled frying pan (no oil needed if using a non-stick pan), cook until thin, let cool, and then cut into strips.

2.
Season the chicken stock with salt. Since the other ingredients have almost no flavor, make it slightly on the salty side.

3.
Either garnish the rice with the ingredients from step 1, or arrange the ingredients on a flat plate and serve with rice, adding the chicken stock separately. Pour the soup over the rice to eat.

Today, I kept it simple with just chicken, thin egg strips, and sweet-simmered shiitake mushrooms.
Other toppings include sesame seeds, shredded nori, papaya pickles, and dried citrus peel (dried mandarin orange peel) to add color and fragrance. Papaya pickles are apparently green papayas pickled in miso. You can also substitute with pickled ginger, takana pickles, or takuan, so please prepare them to your liking.

Easy and light, soup rice. Please try making it on the weekend.

*1 Recently, convenience stores sell steamed chicken for salads. If you make it at home, put one breast in a pot, add water, and bring to a boil. Once it boils, discard the water, add fresh water, and simmer slowly. If you have them, add the green part of a long onion or ginger.
If you make it by hand, the poaching liquid can be used as the soup to pour over the rice. Since the poaching liquid is thin in flavor and umami on its own, add salt and a little granulated chicken stock. For those who want to use only chicken stock, chicken thighs or bone-in parts are recommended.

*2 To make sweet-simmered dried shiitake mushrooms, cut off the stems of the rehydrated dried shiitake, add enough water to cover them using a half-and-half mix of water and the mushroom soaking liquid, simmer for a while, then add sugar first, followed by soy sauce, and simmer until sweet and savory. If you make a little extra and keep it as a staple, it is convenient for bento boxes.

*3 The trick to making thin egg strips is the heat control of the frying pan. If it is lukewarm, the egg will not set properly, and if it is too hot, bubbles will form, resulting in a poor texture. Start heating from a cold pan, drop a little beaten egg with chopsticks, and when it starts to sizzle and set, it is ready. Pour in the egg all at once, tilt the frying pan or egg pan, and spread it evenly over low heat. Lift with chopsticks, flip to lightly cook the other side, place on a cutting board, and cut after it has cooled.