The History of Rice in Japan
Wet-rice culture came to Japan during the dawn of the Yayoi period (300 B.C. – 300 A.D.), either directly from China or via the Korean Peninsula. It was a time characterized by people known as the Yayoi, new tools and farming techniques (such as growing rice in paddies), and a deep reverence for rice itself, typified by seasonal ceremonies and festivities that are observed to the present day.
Contrary to popular belief, however, white rice didn’t become Japan’s primary grain until after World War II.
Until then, grains like millet or barley were the dietary mainstays of most Japanese. Rice farmers didn’t get to enjoy the fruits of their labor very often, either. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), rice was primarily used to pay taxes to samurai landholders; a samurai’s wealth, in fact, was measured by the number of koku (a koku equaled to little over five bushels) of rice he collected. The only people who ate white rice in those days were samurai, the upper classes, and rich merchants, and they were prodigious consumers of the stuff. In 1859, for instance, members of the upper social strata ate an annual average of 228 kilograms of rice. In comparison, in 2017, the average rice consumption rate was around 82.1 kilograms per person.
Rice’s Importance in Japan
Another reflection of the continuing importance of rice in Japanese culture is that the word gohan means not only “cooked rice” but “meal” as well. When somebody says “Gohan desu!” it can be translated as “Soup’s on!” During a typical day in a Japanese household, rice is served in many guises-plain rice accompanying a steaming bowl of miso soup and pickles for breakfast; a box lunch filled mainly with rice and topped with a fat umeboshi (pickled plum); onigiri (rice balls) for a snack; and for dinner, often rice, served in any number of variations.
Zosui
Zosui (rice porridge) also known as ojiya is one such excellent way to utilize left-over rice and make it into a meal. Although my recipe uses chicken and vegetables, you could also do a simplified version just using flavored dashi stock of some sort, eggs, and minced green onions or trefoil as a garnish. It is also particularly tasty using left-over reserved soup stock from a nabemono (hot pot) meal such as Oden.
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Chicken and Vegetable Zosui (Rice Porridge)
Chicken and Vegetable Zosui (Rice Porridge)
Ingredients
- 5-1/2 cups dashi fish stock
- 3 tbsp sake, or to taste
- 3 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 5-1/4 ozs skinned and boned chicken breast (150g), cut into small cubes
- 1 ¾ ozs carrots (50g), peeled and cut into thin half-moons
- 2 small turnips, peeled and cut in two, then cut into thin half-moons
- 4-1/2 cups slightly undercooked short-grain Japanese rice (can also use pre-cooked leftover rice or even frozen rice)
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
Garnish
- Use either minced green onions (to taste) or mitsuba (trefoil), trimmed and finely chopped with stems, to taste.
Instructions
- In a deep pot (ideally an earthenware one you can bring to the table for easy serving), add the stock, sake, soy sauce, and salt. Bring to a boil, mix well, then add the chicken and vegetables and cook over medium heat until halfway done.
- Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken and vegetables are completely cooked. Add the beaten eggs, stir once and turn the heat off. Cover the pot for a minute or two-the egg will still be undercooked and runny at this point-then sprinkle the top with either the green onions or trefoil, mixing it into the porridge if desired.
- Serve immediately in soup bowls. A plate of tsukemono (pickles) would provide the perfect accompaniment to this dish.
Do you love Zosui?
Snap a pic and hashtag it #thanksforthemeal — I would love to see a photo of your Zosui on Instagram and or Facebook, or leave a note in the comments section (see below) and let me know!
Miso (fermented soybean paste) is not only considered a condiment, spice, and seasoning in Japan but a way of life as well. I can think of no equivalent food in Western cuisine that has had such a powerful impact on culinary culture, not to mention societal relations.
