Seri okowa / steamed sweet rice with water dropwort

The mellow aroma that wafts up from okowa steamed sweet rice is comforting in cold seasons. Seri water dropwort acts as a counterpoint even when a smaller amount is used, as seri's slightly bitter taste and vibrant color provide just enough punch.

1/2 of recipe:
277 calories; 5.4 g protein; 0.9 g fat; 59.3 g carbohydrate; 58.3 g net carbs; 96 mg sodium; ０ mg cholesterol; 1.0 g fiber

1/3 of recipe:
185 calories; 3.6 g protein; 0.6 g fat; 39.6 g carbohydrate; 38.9 g net carbs; 64 mg sodium; ０ mg cholesterol; 0.7 g fiber


＜Ingredients>

1 cup* (180 cc, 150 g) mochigome sweet rice
Approx. 130 cc water (not in photo)
Handful (40-50 g) seri water dropwort (51 g in photo)
1 tsp shiokoji salted rice malt
* 1 rice cooker cup = 180 cc

<Directions>
1.

Rinse sweet rice, soak for 3-4 hours, and drain.

2.

When ready to cook, put sweet rice in rice cooker,  add water to slightly below "sweet rice 1 cup" mark, and cook.
(See Notes if cooking in microwave.)

3.

In the meantime, blanch seri.
Bring plenty of water to boil and put seri, stems first then leaves.

When leaf color brightens, immediately transfer to cold water to stop cooking and prevent discoloration.

When cool enough, drain.
Squeeze out excess water, and chop. 

Squeeze out excess water once again, and put in a small bowl while fluffing with fingers. 

Add shiokoji, and mix well.  

4.

When rice is done, let sit for 10 minutes, and gently turn.

5.

Immediately before serving, mix in seri, and gently turn.

Ready to serve. 

<Notes>

• Sweet rice can be microwaved instead of cooked in a rice cooker. After soaking and draining, add 135 cc water (75% of rice by volume), cover, and microwave for 7-8 minutes (1,000 watts), removing once or twice and mixing, until all water is absorbed by rice and rice grains no longer look opaque.
• Sweet rice cooked in a rice cooker tends to be soft when following the water volume guide on the inside wall of the cooker pot. Above, I add water to below the volume guide to prevent an overly soft texture (this is totally a matter of preference).
• Make sure to squeeze out excess water from seri before mixing with shiokoji. Due to the water content of shiokoji, too much moisture in seri would make finished rice watery.
• Mixing seri immediately before serving is to ensure a vivid green color.
• If shiokoji is not available, try 1/2 tsp salt. If you do, sodium content would increase by 180-460+ mg for 1/2 of recipe and 120-300+ mg for 1/3 of recipe above, depending of type of salt.