This Japanese Sea Bream Rice (Tai Meshi) is an elegant rice dish fit for special occasions. Flavored by a savory broth extracted from sea bream bone and cooked in a donabe, the rice is incredibly fragrant and tastes heavenly. It’s easily one of the most festive things you can serve. 

Tai Meshi with Leftover Baked Sea Bream

INGREDIENTS

For Rice

• 2 rice cooker cups uncooked Japanese short-grain rice
• 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (2” x 2” or 5 cm x 5 cm)
• ½ lb sea bream meat (leftover from Japanese Baked Sea Bream)
• 1 knob ginger (2” or 5 cm)
• Japanese sansho pepper

For Broth (400 ml, or 1 ¾ cup minus 1 Tbsp)

• 1 cooked sea bream bone and head (leftover from Japanese Baked Sea Bream)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp sake
• ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients. For this recipe, I use a 3-cup size double-lid donabe rice cooker called Kamado-san.

   

To Make Fish Broth

1. Note: The fish broth can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. With a spoon, remove the inside of the fish head. Keep the main fish bones for the broth, but discard any tiny bones, the fins, and the tail.

2. Place the fish bones and head in a medium/large pot and fill up the pot with water, just to cover them.

3. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, skim the foam and scrum with a fine-mesh skimmer. Lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes while skimming occasionally. We want clean broth for the rice.

4. After 10 minutes of simmering, strain the bones and broth over a fine-mesh strainer placed over a large bowl or another pot. Discard the bones and head, and let the broth cool to room temperature.

To Make Tai Meshi

1. Rinse the short-grain rice (If you are not sure how to rinse rice, see this post) and drain well. Transfer to a donabe (I use a Kamado-san) or a medium pot.

   
2. In a 2-cup measuring cup, add soy sauce and sake first. Then pour the fish broth until the amount is 400 ml (should be 1 ¾ cup minus 1 Tbsp).
3. Add salt and mix well together. Then transfer to the donabe (pot).
4. Flatten the rice and add a piece of kombu on top. Put the lid on (for Kamadosan, put internal and external lids). Let the rice soak in the broth for 20-30 minutes.
5. Cook on medium-high heat (or medium heat on a professional gas stove) for 13-15 minutes.
6. If you are using a Kamado-san, remove from the heat 2-3 minutes after the steam starts puffing from the top lid (see left pic below). Each gas stove is different, so this is a good sign to follow. Let it stand for 20 minutes, without opening the lid.

To Serve

1. Shave off the skin of ginger with a knife and cut it into thin slices. Then cut it into thin julienned pieces.
2. Break the fish meat into smaller bite-size pieces. If the fish was in the fridge, you may want to reheat it in the microwave. Open the lid (double lids, if using Kamado-san).
3. Remove the kombu (you can discard or re-use it to make simmered kombu) and gently fluff the rice with a rice paddle.
4. Add half of the fish meat and julienned ginger and mix gently. Then transfer the rest of the fish meat to the rice. Garnish with the rest of the ginger on top. Serve into individual bowls and sprinkle some sansho pepper if you like. Enjoy!

To Store

1. You can keep the leftover in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

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