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Kiritanpo nabe
きりたんぽ鍋: Akita's toasted rice sticks in a chicken and burdock hot pot
In Akita, in Japan's snowy north-west, the new rice harvest in October marks the start of kiritanpo season, and the town of Odate holds a festival for it every autumn. Freshly cooked rice is half-pounded, pressed around sticks and toasted, then cut up and dropped into a soy-seasoned chicken broth with burdock, maitake mushrooms and crunchy Japanese parsley called seri. Locals use the region's Hinai-jidori chicken; any good free-range bird works. The toasted rice soaks up the broth but keeps a little chew. Chef's tip: toast the rice sticks until dry and golden in patches all over, as a crisp outer skin keeps them from dissolving in the pot.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the kiritanpo
For the hot pot
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Put hot 1 ⅓ lb freshly cooked Japanese short-grain rice, hot in a large bowl with ¼ tsp salt. Pound it with the end of a rolling pin or a pestle for 2–3 minutes until about half the grains are crushed and it sticks together. Common mistake: pounding it to a smooth paste. Fully mashed rice turns gluey in the broth; you want broken grains with some whole ones.
3 minStep 2: Wet your hands and divide the rice into 6 portions. Press each one around a soaked 6 thick wooden skewers or disposable chopsticks into a sausage about 3 cm thick and 12 cm long, squeezing firmly so there are no gaps. Leave to cool for 10 minutes so they firm up.
15 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan) or the grill to high. Brush the rice sticks with 1 tsp vegetable oil and lay them on a rack over a tray. Toast for 15–20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until dry and golden-brown in patches all over.
20 minStep 4: While they toast, scrub 1 burdock root (gobo) and shave it into thin slivers, turning it like sharpening a pencil. Drop the slivers into cold water as you go to stop them browning, then drain.
Step 5: Bring 5 cups chicken stock to a simmer in a wide pot or clay hot pot over a medium heat. Add the burdock and 14 oz boneless chicken thighs, skin on and simmer for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam, until the chicken reaches 165°F/165 °F and the juices run clear.
10 minStep 6: Stir in 4 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sake and 2 tbsp mirin. Sake and mirin contain alcohol; for an alcohol-free broth, leave them out and add 1½ tsp sugar.
Step 7: Add 5 ½ oz maitake mushrooms, 1 leek or Japanese negi and 7 oz shirataki noodles and simmer for 5 minutes, until the leek is soft.
5 minStep 8: Slide the kiritanpo off the sticks and cut each one diagonally into 3 pieces. Add them to the pot with 3 ½ oz seri (Japanese parsley) or watercress and simmer for 2–3 minutes only, just until the rice has softened at the edges and the seri has wilted. Serve straight from the pot at the table.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kiritanpo nabe take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of freshly cooked japanese short-grain rice, hot?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of boneless chicken thighs, skin on?
- Chicken breast, same weight (cook a few minutes less so it stays juicy).
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