Southern Clouds and Blessing: Taste of Japanese Fall: Chestnut Rice 日本の秋の味栗ご飯

Chestnut rice is one of our most favorite Fall foods in Japan.
Ever since we were small kids our grandmas and moms would make it every year and we have inherited the recipe and its taste.
When it comes to Fall in Japan, the image we might get is tinted autumn leaves and roast sweet potatoes (roasted in faded leaves) under the trees.
Red of leaves, purple skin of sweet potatoes and yellow inside, then here comes orange of pumpkins?
Although sweet potatoes and pumpkins are actually displayed all the year at grocery stores, the reason we love to eat them this season is because they get flavorful the most.
This past Monday I found beautiful chestnuts at a grocery store and I couldn't leave there without buying them.
I haven't seen fresh chestnuts yet since I came to Germany and I'd missed it a lot.
The very first idea I thought of was, of course, chestnut rice :) I thought I'd also make mont blanc cakes but, no no. This rice comes first.
So tonight, this chestnut rice comes on our table.

栗ご飯は日本の秋の味の一つ。私たちが小さい頃から必ずおばあちゃんやお母さんが秋に作って、受け継がれていくんですよね。
秋と言えば想像するのがまず赤い紅葉、木の下に連想されるのが焼き芋。
赤や芋の紫、黄色と来るとオレンジ色のカボチャとか?
サツマイモもカボチャも基本一年中スーパーに並んでいるけど、主に秋に食べられるのはこの時季が一番美味しいからなんですね。
先日月曜日にいつも行くスーパーで大きな栗を見つけて買わずには帰れませんでした。
ドイツに来てから鬼皮が付いてるままの栗はまだ見かけていなかったので(渋皮煮のような真空パック状態のものはよくある)嬉しかった〜。。
最初に思いついたのはもちろん栗ご飯。モンブランケーキもいいかと思ったけど、いやいや、まずご飯でしょ。
というわけで今夜のうちの夕食には栗ご飯登場です。

☟☟☟☟☟

You need:

Rice cooker (you can cook with a pot on cooking stove but you'd need lots of practice)

Ingredients -----------------------------------------------------

15 to 20 pieces Chestnuts
2 cups (300g) Rice, washed, drained
2 cups filtered Water

2 TBsp Japanese saki
1+1/2 TBsp Sugar
1tsp Salt

Sesame to top

材料--------------------------------------------------------------

15 ~ 20個　栗

2合　米: 洗って水を切っておく

大さじ2　酒
大さじ1+1/2　砂糖又は大さじ2　みりん (私が住んでいるところにはみりんなど存在しないのでいつも砂糖です)
小さじ1　塩

ごま: 最後まぶす用

① In a medium post where all chestnuts fit in, fill in water and bring to boil.

Dump all chestnuts into boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from heat, let it cool until you can touch the water (lukewarm).

　栗が収まるくらいの中くらいの鍋にたっぷり水を入れ沸騰させた後、栗を入れて3,4分煮る。

　火を止めてぬるま湯くらいの触れる温度になるまで冷ます。

② Start to peel the skin off. BE CAREFUL not to cut your finger(s).

Make a cut into the bottom - the widest, round part of the nut- and fix the skin with your thumb and the corner of your knife, put it all back down to the point of the nut.

Make sure to remove the thinner brown-hairy skin as well until you come to the 4th picture down here.

Prepare a medium small bowl filled in water to keep peeled chestnuts from changing its color into brown.

　皮を剥く。指を切らないように注意。栗の底 -丸い部分- に切れ目を入れ、包丁の根元を使って先の方に向かって剥いでいく。

　渋皮もキレイに剥き、剥けたら変色を避けるために水に浸けておく。

③ When finished peeling of chestnuts, wash & rinse them.

Put washed, drained rice into your rice cooker.

Drizzle 2 TBsp Japanese saki, 1 & 1/2 TBsp sugar, and 1 tsp salt over the rice and fill in filtered water until scale "2" as you prepared 2 cups of rice.

Make a quick stir to mix ingredients in it and toss in peeled chestnuts over the rice.

Turn the switch on!

　皮剥きが終わったら栗をすすぐ。

　お米を炊飯器に入れ、酒、砂糖(みりん)、塩を入れてから水を目盛り2まで入れる。

　軽くかき混ぜてから栗を投入しスイッチオン。