When discussing Christmas in Japan it would be remiss not to mention the traditional cake that families and individuals buy during this time of the year. RocketNews24 also purchased a cute Santa cake to please our collective sweet teeth and warm our bellies in the cold winter.
However, it wouldn’t be a RocketNews24 Christmas with cooking that bad boy up in a rice cooker. Heck, if Big Macs or Oreos work, then rice-cooker-cooked Christmas cake should be a grand slam. Unsurprisingly (for us at least) the results were both festively pretty and delicious!
【Ingredients】
Rice・・・2 cups
Mixed vegetables・・・3 tablespoons
Salt、peppercorn・・・ Just a little
Consome soup stock・・・2 teaspoons
White wine・・・1 tablespoon
Butter・・・1 pat
Christmas cake・・・1
【Method】
1. Put two cups of rice in the cooker pot. Add water.
2. Pour in slightly less than the usual amount of water. (about 1-2mm under the line for two cups)
3. Add the mixed vegetables and season to your liking.
4. Put the cake on top and close the lid. Push the regular cook button. We recommend white cake as it mixes well with the joyous colors of the mixed vegetables.
5. When the cooker completes its cycle, mix well and eat.
▼Sadly, Santa was reduced to a stain…
In setting the rice cooker to the regular cycle you’ll have to wait a little under an hour. It’s like a little slice of Christmas morning as you wait for the cooker’s Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star chime to tell you it’s finished. It was a pleasant surprsie when we first saw how well the rice and cake had fused into one. Santa was no longer with us, and that was a shame, but we were happy nonetheless.
We mixed up well after the cooking, and much to our surprise it didn’t look nearly as insane as the idea was originally. It looked like regular food, and the smell was a pleasant bouquet of tangy fruit, sweet cream, and bitter chocolate.
Combined further with the slightly salty pilaf and a surprising harmony is born. On top of that, something (maybe the oil in the cake) had coated the rice giving it both a beautiful sheen and pleasing texture. The cake part too came to have an enjoyable squishy texture, rather like raw dough.
In the end, you might call us heathens or depraved gourmet criminals for “ruining” perfectly good food. However, like most maniacal villains we see ourselves more as artists. Through butchering traditional foodstuffs we create something new and exciting. And that is the true meaning of Japanese Christmas… starting now because we said so.
Bon appétit!
Photo：RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]