Shio Kombu Rice is an easy and delicious way to give an ordinary rice an extra flavor boost. This is a simple 2 ingredient recipe. All you need is rice and shio kombu! Serve it in place of plain rice for any meal ^_^
You already know how much we love and eat rice in Hawaii. I even have an entire section of this blog devoted to rice recipes.
From Lup Cheong (Chinese Sausage) Rice to buttery Scallop Rice, you can make entire meals in the rice cooker alone.
What Is Shio Kombu?
Shio Kombu = thin sheets of kelp boiled in shoyu / soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. The sheets of kelp are then dried and cut into thin strips.
Shio Kombu is composed of two words:
Shio = Salt.
Kombu = Kelp.
It tastes sweet and salty, and super umami. If you taste shio kombu straight from the bag, it is a little chewy and packed with flavor.
You can use shio kombu in numerous ways. Mix it with rice as we do in this recipe. Add canned tuna in olive oil and seasonings for Shio Kombu Tuna Rice. Make Shio Kombu Tofu. Use it to make onigiri. Make Shio Kombu Roasted Sweet Potato. Add shio kombu to stir fry or noodle dishes. Mix it with raw fish for Shio Kombu Sashimi (super good with ahi / tuna and salmon).
In short, use shio kombu when you want an extra flavor boost.
Many Japanese markets sell a variety of shio kombu. There's the regular version, the lower sodium version (pictured above), and even a finely chopped version (it looks almost powdered) of shio kombu.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Uncooked rice - use any kind of rice you have available, but this is extra delicious made with Japanese short grain rice. It's also good with jasmine rice!
- Shio kombu
Instructions
Let's get cooking!
Rinse the rice several times in water until the water runs almost clear. I like to rinse the rice directly in the rice cooker pot - one less thing to wash!
Fill the rice cooker pot with water up to the “1 cup” line.
Cook the rice as you normally would in the rice cooker. There should be an automatic button setting on the rice cooker.
Once the rice is done cooking, let it sit for 10 minutes. Then open the rice cooker and fluff the rice with a rice paddle.
Top the rice with the shio kombu. Start with 1 tablespoon of shio kombu. If you like it more flavorful, then add more shio kombu.
Use the rice paddle to gently combine and fluff until everything is evenly mixed.
Serve and enjoy!
Top Tip
Make sure to mix the shio kombu into the rice after the rice is done cooking.
The first time I made this dish, I sprinkled the shio kombu on top of the rice and water and then cooked everything together in the rice cooker. My thinking was that cooking shio kombu with the rice would allow the flavors to infuse even more. My mistake haha.
Because shio kombu doesn't need to be "cooked," it got mushy in the rice cooker. All the nice long strands of shio kombu broke into tiny pieces.
So now you know: cook the rice first, and then mix in the shio kombu.
FAQ
There are many options! There are two that we often do:
When you mix the shio kombu into the rice, you can also mix in a handful of shelled edamame (make sure to defrost the edamame ahead of time). It's like our Edamame and Hijiki Rice. You can serve this as "Shio Kombu Edamame Rice" or form them into rice balls to make onigiri!
Do you have leftover salmon? Flake the salmon into small pieces. Mix it along with the shio kombu into the rice. This version is also tasty with finely chopped shiso leaves (similar to Ume Shiso Rice).
Leftovers keep 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
Steaming is always ideal and preferred. But it is not always practical, especially when you are in a rush. We mostly reheat rice in the microwave.
Reheat in 30 second increments. To keep the rice from drying out in the microwave, place a damp paper towel on top.
Many families in Hawaii have a rice cooker. We use the rice cooker so often that it sits proudly on the counter and not hidden away in a cabinet.
Rice cooker options range from the very affordable (I had a great $20 one in college) to fancy (including one that plays a melody when the rice is done cooking).
There are seemingly endless options, and the "best" rice cooker is the one that works for your budget.
My favorite rice cooker brand is Zojirushi. They make many different types of rice cookers. We currently use Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH which is great for a bigger household. We previously used Zojirushi NS-LGC05XB. I love them both. Plus they look nice on the counter ^_^
Shio Kombu Rice Recipe
Shio Kombu Rice
Ingredients
- 1 "rice cup" of uncooked rice, ideally Japanese short grain rice (1 "rice cup" = ¾ regular cup)
- 1-2 tablespoons shio kombu
Instructions
- Rinse the rice several times in water until the water runs almost clear. I like to rinse the rice directly in the rice cooker pot - one less thing to wash!
- Fill the rice cooker pot with water up to the “1 cup” line.
- Cook the rice as you normally would in the rice cooker. There should be an automatic button setting on the rice cooker.
- Once the rice is done cooking, let it sit for 10 minutes. Then open the rice cooker and fluff the rice with a rice paddle.
- Top the rice with the shio kombu. Start with 1 tablespoon of shio kombu. If you like it more flavorful, then add more shio kombu.Use the rice paddle to gently combine and fluff until everything is evenly mixed.
- Serve and enjoy!
Kat
another combo is shio konbu & shredded cabbage, you often see this at izakaya (bars)