Rice Porridge (Okayu) - SKET Dance

So, I have been terribly sick this last week. Coughing, runny nose, sneezing, an aversion to anything that involves getting up, the whole shebang. So, one day when I was particularly hungry, I found the energy to make up some rice porridge. In Japan, rice porridge is the equivalent of chicken noodle soup when you’re sick. As such, if a person has just fallen sick with a cold or a fever in an anime or manga (SKET Dance included), chances are a friend will rush over and make them a pot of hot rice porridge. So if you’re ever feeling like you might be getting sick, call up a friend and hand this recipe to them, or, if you’re feeling cooped up at home and hungry, make it for yourself!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup white rice (preferably short grain, but medium is fine)
• Water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Optional ingredients: Eggs, chicken, onion, green onion, kimchee, umiboshi (sour plum), pork tenderloin, mushrooms, sesame seeds, soy sauce, sriracha, just about anything you want.

Directions:

1. Rinse the rice thoroughly in a pot, as per this recipe.
2. Once the rice is clean, add in 3 cups of water and the salt and let the rice soak for at least 30 minutes.
3. Bring the rice to a boil on medium-high heat, and then turn the down the heat to low and cook, covered by a lid, for 30 minutes. After that, turn off the heat, and let the rice sit for 10 more minutes.
4. Pour/scoop into a bowl, and top with whatever you want!

For rice porridge a la SKET Dance: Once in the bowl, crack one egg and place on top of the rice porridge. Steam the whole bowl until the egg is as cooked as you like it (I like the yoke really runny). If you don’t have a bamboo steamer, but still want the egg on top cooked, you can pop it in the oven for a few minutes, but just be careful not to over cook it.

I like rice porridge with kimchee on it, but this time I added miso poached chicken with onions, sriracha, green onions and soy sauce. Classic Japanese rice porridge just has a simple sour pickled plum in the middle.