← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 250 g Chicken mince
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated, with its juice
• 1 tbsp Sake
• 1 tbsp Mirin
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 3 Eggs
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 pinch Salt
• 12 Green beans, blanched and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 450 g hot cooked Japanese rice
• 1 tbsp Pickled red ginger (beni shoga) (optional)

Method

1. Put the chicken, ginger, sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce in a cold saucepan and stir well before turning on the heat. This is the trick to very fine crumbs.
2. Set over medium heat and stir constantly with 4–5 chopsticks or a whisk for 5–6 min, until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has almost gone.
3. Beat the eggs with the sugar and salt. Cook in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with chopsticks, for 2–3 min until set into small, soft, dry-ish crumbs.
4. Divide the rice between bowls and arrange the chicken, egg and green beans in neat sections on top.
5. Add a little red ginger and serve warm, or pack it cool for a bento.

Tips

• Starting the chicken in a cold pan stops it clumping; keep stirring the whole time.
• For bento, cool everything quickly and keep it chilled until lunch.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Japanese Cooking 101