Keihan (Japanese Chicken Soup with Rice)

Ingredients (serves 4):
For Shiitake Mushrooms:

4 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup water to soak shiitake (reserve)
1 Tbsp. sake (rice wine)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1 tsp. sugar

For Chicken Soup:

2 medium chicken breasts
4 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp. sake (rice wine)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

To Cook in the Rice Cooker:

2 cups (rice measuring cup) short or medium grain white rice
Water to fill to water level 2 for "WHITE RICE"

For Shredded Egg Crêpes:

3 eggs
1/2 tsp. corn starch, mixed with 1/2 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sake (rice wine)
1/8 tsp. salt

Topping:

1 tsp. dried orange peel
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
4 Tbsp. minced takuan (pickled daikon radish) or green papaya pickles (may substitute with your favorite pickles)
A handful of shredded nori (seaweed)

1

Soak the shiitake mushroom in water for 30 minutes to an hour to reconstitute. Reserve the stock.

2

Place chicken breasts in a medium sauce pan. Add chicken stock, sake, salt, soy sauce and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3

Prepare white rice using the ingredients listed under “To Cook in the Rice Cooker.” For steps to cooking white rice, see here.

4

Slice the shiitake mushrooms and cook in the reserved stock, sake, soy sauce, mirin and sugar for 6 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside.

5

Make shredded egg crêpes. In a large bowl, combine eggs and corn starch solution, sugar, sake and salt. Preheat a medium nonstick frying pan over medium heat, ladle in egg mixture and make four 7 inch egg crêpes. Stack on a plate with parchment paper between each crêpe to cool. When crêpes are cool, remove parchment paper and thinly slice the stack.

6

When chicken is cool to touch, separate from soup and shred and set aside. Do not discard soup.

7

When rice completes cooking, gently fluff the rice using the rice spatula and serve onto individual serving bowls. Top with shredded chicken, mushroom and shredded egg crêpes.

8

Reheat reserved chicken soup, pour over the toppings. Garnish with orange peel, green onions, pickles and nori to your taste.

9

Enjoy!