Ume Shiso Rice is an elegant and easy way to make your bowl of rice extra special. It's bright and flavorful, so delicious! All you need is rice, umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums), shiso, and sesame seeds to make this gorgeous rice dish. Mix everything together and gently toss. Serve with a simple dish to let this special rice shine ^_^
Why This Recipe Works
Ume Shiso Rice is as delicious as it is pretty! Grains of rice are studded with roasted sesame seeds, thinly sliced fresh shiso leaves and finely chopped umeboshi.
Umeboshi* is a Japanese pickled plum. It gives the rice beautiful speckles of a deep pink/red and a bright, salty, and tart flavor. It is refreshing!
Shiso* is a Japanese herb. It comes from the same family as mint. It also gives a bright flavor, and feels so fresh and graceful.
Umeboshi and shiso is a popular ingredient pairing. It is wonderful ^_^
Combined with rice and sesame seeds, this elevates a regular bowl of rice to something extra special. Pair the rice with a simple main dish (recipe ideas at the bottom of this post), or enjoy it plain. It's also perfect with a bowl of miso soup for breakfast.
*You can purchase shiso, umeboshi, and roasted sesame seeds at most Japanese markets. Umeboshi (online) and roasted sesame seeds (online) can also be found online.
Rice Cooker
Our rice cooker is our most used kitchen appliance. It is a treasured appliance in Hawaii and nearly every local family has one. The rice cooker is used often (pretty much daily) so we keep it on the kitchen counter. Never away in a drawer or hidden in a cabinet.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, consider getting one! It brings us much joy ^_^ Rice cooker options range from affordable (I use a $20 one in my college dorm) to fancy (ones that play a song/melody when the rice finishes cooking). There are numerous good options, select one that works for your budget.
Our go-to rice cooker brand is Zojirushi. They make many different types of rice cookers along with other neat appliances.
This is the Zojirushi model we use at home. It is good and reliable. We also appreciate how nice it looks on the countertop.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you'll need for Ume Shiso Rice:
- Rice - we usually use Japanese short grain rice (make sure to check out The Rice Factory when you are in Hawaii).
- Shiso leaves
- Umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums)
- Roasted sesame seeds
This recipe was adapted from Just One Cookbook. Let's get cooking!
Step by Step Directions
See below for Ume Shiso Rice directions. I've also included a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Prepare Rice.
Rinse the rice several times in water until the water runs almost clear. We like to rinse the rice directly in the rice cooker pot - it is one less thing to wash!
Fill the pot with water up to the “1 cup” line. There's usually a marker inside the rice pot that indicates how much water to use.
Cook rice.
Cook the rice as you normally would in the rice cooker. There should be an automatic button setting on the rice cooker. Your rice cooker might also have a "quick cook" button, feel free to use that if you're in a rush.
Prepare umeboshi.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the umeboshi. Do this by removing the pit from each umeboshi and then chopping it into small pieces. Chop and mash it as fine as you can get the umeboshi. Set aside.
Prepare shiso.
Prepare the shiso leaves by cutting off the small stem. Then stack all the leaves on top of each other and roll it up tightly (roll from top to bottom). Use a good knife and slice the shiso into very thin strips. Set aside.
Let rice sit, then fluff.
Once the rice is done cooking, let the rice sit for 10 minutes before opening the rice cooker. Then fluff the rice with a rice paddle.
Mix everything with the rice.
Top the rice with the sesame seeds, umeboshi, and shiso leaves. Use a rice paddle to gently mix and fluff the rice with all the toppings until everything is evenly mixed.
Portion and eat.
Portion the rice into individual serving bowls. Eat and enjoy!
FAQs and Tips
Ume Shiso Rice is best enjoyed the same day, but leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat, just steam or microwave in 1 minute increments.
Serve this with a simple main dish, so that you can let the rice shine! Here are a few ideas:
- Crispy fried eggs, like these wonderful Pocket Eggs.
- Ikura (Cured Salmon Roe)
- Chinese Tea Eggs or Soy Sauce (Shoyu) Eggs
- Simmered Daikon
- Misoyaki Butterfish
- Tuna Tofu Patties
- Shoyu Hot Dogs
- Mochiko Chicken
We love cooking in the rice cooker! It’s pretty amazing how you can prepare a whole meal in just the rice cooker alone. These are some of our favorite rice cooker recipes:
– Corn Rice
– Chinese Bacon Rice
– Edamame and Hijiki Rice
– Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) and Rice
– Turmeric Rice
– Edamame and Nametake Rice
– Scallop (and butter!) Rice
Ume Shiso Rice Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Ume Shiso Rice
Ume Shiso Rice is an elegant and easy way to make your bowl of rice extra special. It's bright and flavorful, so delicious! All you need is rice, umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums), shiso, and sesame seeds to make this gorgeous rice dish. Mix everything together and gently toss. Serve with a simple dish to let this special rice shine ^_^
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 8 shiso leaves
- 3 umeboshi
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Rinse the rice several times in water until the water runs almost clear. We like to rinse the rice directly in the rice cooker pot - it is one less thing to wash!
- Fill the 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.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare the umeboshi. Do this by removing the pit from each umeboshi and chopping/mashing it into small pieces. Set aside.
- Prepare the shiso leaves by cutting off the small stem. Then stack all the leaves on top of each other and roll it up tightly (from top to bottom). Use a good knife and slice into very thin strips. Set aside.
- 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 sesame seeds, umeboshi, and shiso leaves. Use the rice paddle to gently mix and fluff until everything is evenly mixed.
- Portion out into individual serving bowls. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from Just One Cookbook.
Another good addition to this would be shio kombu (comes in a bag) or make your own sweetened thinly julienned kombu. Or any other Tsukudani.
That sounds delicious! 🙂
- Kathy
Hi Kathy: For a Chinese girl, you make a lot of old school, traditional Japanese food items. LOL! I have never made this dish before, nor have I ever eaten it. But I do love ume and I do love shiso! My simple ways of eating these things are to just put the ume in traditional musubis, and I put thinly slivered shiso under my slices of sashimi on the plate. I actually prefer purple shiso to the green type; don't know why, I just think it tastes better to me. And another funny thing, I don't like mint in anything, but I love shiso!! Go figure?!