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Chestnut Rice

Name: Chestnut Rice
Prep time: 20

(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)

20 min prep

6 servings

Carrot Icon for Number of Ingredients Size

10 ingredients

As a designer, I used to travel to Japan for my job. I learned to love the simply cooked comforting rice dishes that the Japanese would eat at home. They were the only thing...

2 pounds chestnuts, or 15-ounces jarred
1 tablespoon sugar, if using fresh chestnuts
3 cups short grain white sushi rice, washed and drained a few times
4 cups water
2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons salt
3 inch piece kombu
4 leaves kale, chopped

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Nutrition Facts

Calories

323 cals

Fat

2 g

Saturated Fat

0 g

Polyunsaturated Fat

1 g

Monounsaturated Fat

1 g

Carbohydrates

70 g

Sugar

0 g

Fiber

1 g

Protein

4 g

Sodium

701 mg

Directions

If using fresh chestnuts place in a pot of water. Bring to a boil. Once the water has boiled, turn off the heat, cover, and let the chestnuts sit in the hot water for 30 minutes to soften the shells. Drain. When cool enough to handle, but while still warm, use a sharp knife to crack open the chestnuts. Peel and discard the shells. Put the chestnuts in a plastic sealable bag with the sugar. Massage the chestnuts and freeze for 4 hours. Rinse once ready to use. (See Ann''s Tip)
Combine the rice, water, sake, mirin, soy sauce, salt, and kombu in a rice cooker pot or heavy stockpot. Gently stir. Top with the chopped kale and chestnuts. Cook in a rice cooker or if cooking on the stovetop, bring the rice and water to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low, and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Do not lift the lid. Turn off the heat and keep the rice covered to steam for 10-15 minutes. No peeking! Mix the rice and serve.

Chef Tips

If you do not have the time to freeze the chestnuts, don’t worry. This is only done to preserve their bright yellow color.

You can also make this dish with brown rice. Using the same amounts of all ingredients, add the rice, water kombu, mirin, soy sauce and sake to a pot or rice cooker. Bring to a boil, cover and cook the rice over a low heat for 20 minutes. Add the kale and chestnuts. Cover again and continue cooking for 20 minutes and finish as instructed in the original recipe.

Registered Dietitian Approved

All our recipes are created by chefs and reviewed by our oncology-trained staff Registered Dietitian, Kate Ueland, MS, RD, to ensure that each is backed with scientific evidence and meets the standards set by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.