made in japan

I have written before about adding grains to my rice when I cook it...here and here.

In the past, some of these grain mixes had grains from other countries.

But at the supermarket I recently found one that is all "Made in Japan".

The word for "made in Japan" is "koku-san", literally "grown/made in this country".

This particular mix has 15 different grains all made in different parts of Japan:

mochikibi (glutenous millet from Iwate), oshimugi (pressed barley from Ehime), kuromai (black rice from Fukushima), akamai (red rice from Fukushima), aomai (green rice from Kumamoto), mochimugi (glutenous barley from Ehime), hatomugi (adlay from Iwate), hatsuga-genmai (germinated brown rice from Yamagata), takakibi (sorghum bicolor from Iwate), marumugi (pearl barley from Ehime), mochihakumai (glutenous white rice from Shiga), mochigenmai (glutenous brown rice from Shiga), mochiawa (glutenous millet from Iwate), hie (japanese millet from Iwate), amaranth (from Iwate)...whew!

I used to measure a tablespoon or two of grains before cooking my rice, but now I just sprinkle some into the unwashed rice and as I wash the rice, I run everything through a really fine sieve, so as not to loose the millet.

Most mixes say to add more water, but I don't because I usually set my rice cooker the night before, so it has lots of time to soak and I like the chewiness and firmness of the rice.

Today is Showa no Hi (Showa Day) It used to be called Tenno Tanjoobi (Emperor Hirohito's Birthday) but after he died, it was then changed to Showa no Hi. It is also the start of Golden Week...have a nice weekend!