Japanese Rice

In addition to the cookibook I read from last week, I’ve been enjoying the other old (pre-1923) cookbooks at Project Gutenberg. The prefaces are gems, the prose is brilliant to read, and the recipes reflect the times and tastes in which they were written.

Here’s a recipe from Mrs. Wilson’s Cook Book (1920). The instruction on How to Cook Rice American Style concludes with “It is now ready to serve, either as a vegetable to replace the potato or prepared into many delectable dishes that our Oriental neighbors relish so keenly” and leads right into this:

JAPANESE RICE

Wash and chop fine two medium-sized leeks and then cook tender in one-half cup of water. Drain. Now add

Two cups of cooked rice,
One teaspoon of salt,
One teaspoon of soy.

Mix thoroughly and then dish on a hot baking dish. Cover with slices of hard-boiled eggs. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and garnish with slices of smoked salmon. Place in the oven for a few minutes to heat. Soy may be purchased at fancy grocers.

That’s not a Japanese recipe. I think it might be a very distant relation to ikura-don (salmon eggs on rice)!

Posted by kuri at April 20, 2006 01:51 PM