Kerian rice

Keihan rice

Keihan rice is a local dish of Kagoshima, Amami and Okinawa are located in south of Japan.
Sometimes, it is mistook for chicken rice or takikomi gohan, rice cooked with meat, fish and vegetables.
However, actually it is like chazuke.

Summary

There are four theories about the origin of Keihan rice.
1. Keihan rice of Amami was local dishes of Kasari which was a town located on Amami and it was called takikomi gohan, rice cooked with chicken.
2. In the Edo period(1600~1867), Kagoshima was controled by the Shimazu family, the lords of Kagoshima. They entertained government officials with modern Keihan rice.
3. According to records about island life in the mid-19 century, Keihan rice has formed from modern times.
4. Cooking books of the Edo period (1600~1867) carry how to make modern Keihan rice. That’s why it is possible that Keihan rice was brought into Amami from the Japanese main land.
5. Modern Keihan rice and Ryukyuan court dishes which is rice cooked with Okinawan vegetables have many points in common. So Keihan rice is taught that it’s arranged dishes of Ryukyu kingdom.

Today, in Kagoshima, Keihan rice is standard local dishes besides Amami and it’s a standard school lunch menu. It became as popular as curry and rice in 2005.

Keihan rice of Okinawa is rice cooked with chicken and soup stock.

How to make Keihan rice

1. Season decocted chicken stock with sake and lighter colored soy sauce.
2. Reconstitute dried shitake mushroom with water and boil it and its broth sweet and salty, and cut.
3. Cut thin omelet into strips.
4. Mince pickles.
5. Garnish with nori cut into small pieces, a long green onion cut into small pieces and oranges peel minced as spice.
6. Dish out rice in half of rice bowl, and add your favorite ingredients as you like. Finally, pour hot soup stock over it.

Other

In 1968, April, when the Emperor Akihito came to Amami, he ate Keihan rice and liking it so much he asked for more.

See also

・Chazuke

External Link

Keihan rice-Amami museum(Amami general information site)
http://www.amami-museum.org/
Kagoshima Prefecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagoshima_Prefecture
Amami Islands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amami_Islands
Okinawa Prefecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_Prefecture
Ryūkyū Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%ABky%C5%AB_Kingdom
Kasari,Kagoshima town
　 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasari,_Kagoshima
Shimazu clan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimazu_clan
Akihito who is the current emperor of Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito