Kufaa Jushi
クファジューシー·(kufaa jūshī)
The American Uchinanchu Pantry: Foundations
If there is one smell that pulls an Uchinanchu straight back to their grandmother's kitchen, it's the rich, earthy steam of Kufaa Jushi rising from the rice cooker. Unlike the delicate mixed rice of mainland Japan, Okinawan Jushi is a rustic, hearty collision of land and sea, relying on a potent marriage of pork stock and katsuo dashi. In the old days, grandmothers boiled pork bones for hours, but a modern American weeknight demands a smarter approach. We gently simmer pork belly for a quick stock, fortify it with high-quality dashi, and finish the steaming pot with a crucial, unabashed spoonful of lard. It's a deeply comforting, no-nonsense bowl of heritage that tastes exactly like home.
Before you start
Rinse and soak the rice.
Wash the rice under cold water until it runs clear, then drain thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve and let sit for 30 minutes to ensure proper grain hydration.
Rehydrate the dried goods.
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms and hijiki seaweed in warm water in separate bowls for about 15 minutes. Drain the hijiki completely, and squeeze the mushrooms dry, making sure to reserve at least 1/4 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid.
Cut the vegetables and kamaboko into uniform cubes.
Remove the tough stems from the mushrooms. Finely dice the mushroom caps, drained hijiki, carrot, and kamaboko into 1/4-inch pieces.
Ingredients
- Japanese short-grain white rice1 1/2 cup
- water2 cup
- skinless pork belly5 oz
- dried shiitake mushrooms4 med
- dried hijiki seaweed1 1/2 oz
- carrot1/3 cup
- kamaboko1/3 cup
- soy sauce2 tbsp
- sake1 tbsp
- dashi powder1 tsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- lard2 tsp
- scallions2 med
Method
- 01
Par-boil the pork belly to create a quick foundational stock.
Place the whole piece of pork belly in a small saucepan with the 2 cups of water and simmer gently over medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove the pork to cool, and reserve exactly 1 cup of the boiling liquid.
- 02
Dice the cooled pork belly.
Once the meat is cool enough to handle, cut it into uniform 1/4-inch cubes to match the size of your chopped vegetables.
- 03
Build the dual broth.
In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 cup of warm pork broth, 1/4 cup of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, dashi powder, soy sauce, sake, and kosher salt.
- 04
Assemble the rice cooker pot without stirring.
Place the drained rice into the rice cooker and pour in the seasoned broth, adding a splash of water if needed to exactly reach the 2-cup line for short-grain rice. Scatter the diced pork, mushrooms, hijiki, carrots, and kamaboko evenly over the top of the liquid.
- 05
Cook the rice.
Close the lid and run the machine on the standard white rice or mixed rice setting.
- 06
Finish with the lard and scallions.
When the cycle finishes, immediately open the lid, drop in the lard and chopped scallions, and use a rice paddle to gently fold and fluff the rice until the melting fat coats the grains and everything is glossy.
Notes
Never stir the pot before cooking.
If you mix the heavy meat and vegetables into the liquid before the cycle starts, they will sink and disrupt the boiling process, leaving you with crunchy, half-cooked rice.
Scrape the bottom for the prized crust.
The golden-brown crust that forms at the bottom of the cooker is called okoge; it is highly coveted for its texture and concentrated flavor, so make sure to serve it.
Substitute for lard if absolutely necessary.
If you cannot find lard, rendering the fat from a strip of bacon or simply using 2 teaspoons of unsalted butter is an acceptable hack for the American kitchen.
From Cook Okinawan in America.