Soramame gohan / steamed rice with fava beans

One of my favorite ways to enjoy the mild bitterness of fava beans.

<Ingredients>

4/5 regular rice
1/5 mochigome sweet rice
Small handful fava beans (shelled)
1 tbsp sake
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
Small piece kombu kelp


<Directions>
1.
Wash regular and sweet rice with water, drain and set aside.


2.

Remove outer skin of fava beans.

Cut skin on the longer edge.

Peel off skin.

Here are the bright green fava beans free of their outer skin.









3.

When ready to cook, put sake, salt and water to slightly below the 1-cup line, and mix.








4.

Add fava beans and kombu kelp, and cook.









5.
When done, wait for 10 minutes, remove kombu and gently turn rice and mix.


<Notes>

• If the bright color of fava beans is desired, put beans in rice 15-20 minutes after it's started to cook (ideally only a few minutes before done). Alternatively, boil fava beans in salted water and mix in steamed rice. However, this dish tastes better when rice and beans are cooked together.
• Fava beans are easily removed from shell by twisting it. Beans inside go bad more quickly when shelled compared to English peas, and it is wise to keep them in the shell if beans will not be used anytime soon (in a day or two).