From the mountainous Iya area of Tokushima, this zosui uses buckwheat neither as flour nor as noodles but as hulled whole groats, called sobagome. Local tradition ties it to the Heike, who are said to have planted fast-growing buckwheat on land where rice would not grow well. Chicken, chikuwa, konjac and carrot share the broth with the grains.
Every spoonful brings up strips of dried pollack and fine threads of egg along with the soft rice. The egg goes in last, once the rice and fish are cooked, drizzled thinly over the surface on the lowest heat and stirred only once. The savory flavor comes from the pollack itself, toasted in sesame oil with garlic, rather than from a stock.
Dig in and the melted mozzarella stretches away to reveal chicken breast fried rice turned red with buldak sauce, the fiery Korean chicken sauce. The sauce goes onto the chicken and onion before the rice.
Thin slices of pork shoulder and onion cook in a gingery soy sauce and go over rice. The pan comes off the heat while a little sauce still pools at the bottom, and that sauce is spooned over the rice.
Soft rice cakes are folded through cabbage that has simmered in sake, mirin, soy sauce, and kombu noodle sauce until the ribs turn tender, leaving a salty, lightly sweet glaze on every piece. The dish belongs to the Ose district of Koriyama in Fukushima, where farm households grew their own rice and cabbage and made it year-round as a meal or a filling snack.
Rice wraps the outside and the nori sits hidden within, an inside-out construction that keeps the dark seaweed out of sight. The roll is credited to Japanese chefs in North America in the 1960s or 1970s, but who made it first, and whether in Los Angeles or Vancouver, is still disputed. The inside-out wrap is said to have started because American diners peeled the seaweed off.
Rice simmered low until the grains all but vanish forms a smooth base for cubes of century egg, whose white has set into amber jelly and whose yolk has turned creamy and dark green. The egg, a duck egg cured for weeks in clay, ash, and salt, brings a dense, faintly sulfurous richness that stands out against the plain porridge.
Cooked rice simmered in strongly brewed hojicha gives a pale, loose porridge with a nutty roasted aroma and a gentle bitterness, the grains soft but still distinct. A quick rinse of the cooked rice in cold water removes surface stickiness so the broth stays clear and light.
Chadolbagi, paper-thin beef brisket, goes into a dry, very hot pan with no oil at all; its own fat renders out and crisps the edges. The garlicky soy glaze is poured in at the very end and tossed for only 15 to 20 seconds, just long enough to turn glossy.
The seasoning comes from brisket stir-fried in doenjang, Korean fermented soybean paste, rather than from the usual chili paste. Let the slices sit untouched for about 30 seconds so the fat renders before the paste is added, then keep turning so the doenjang does not catch and burn.
The oil from the tuna can goes straight into the pan and the onion and carrot fry in it, so the tuna flavor gets into the vegetables and rice. Each bowl is topped with its own fried egg.
Tuna gimbap is on nearly every Korean gimbap shop menu. Well-drained tuna mixed with mayonnaise runs down the center, surrounded by carrot, spinach, thin egg strips and danmuji, yellow pickled radish.
Like the cup rice sold at Korean snack shops, it is warm rice topped with tuna mayo and a heap of crushed seaweed. The tuna is first cooked with onion, scallion, soy sauce and sugar, and the mayonnaise goes in only after the heat is off, which keeps it from separating.
No stove needed: drained canned tuna stirred with mayonnaise is spooned over a bowl of warm rice, with soy sauce, sesame oil and crushed seaweed on top. Press the tuna in a sieve until no more oil drips, then break up the big flakes with a fork so the mayo coats it evenly.
This pot rice is eaten without a dipping sauce; the seasoning, just soup soy sauce and salt, is cooked into the rice. Lift the lid and the chamnamul, a fragrant Korean wild green, hits first, while the rice itself carries the flavor of the oyster and shiitake mushrooms sautéed underneath it.
In Vietnam this is what people eat for breakfast or when they are feeling unwell, much the way Koreans turn to dakjuk. The broth carries a quiet heat from sliced ginger, and the seasoning is fish sauce rather than soy.
There is no stock here, only water, but onion and ginger sautéed in sesame oil before the rice goes in keep the porridge from tasting flat. Flecks of red crab and green bok choy show through the white rice.
Hemp seeds toasted in a dry pan are cooked right in with white rice, adding a nutty aroma to an otherwise plain bowl. Pull them off the heat the moment they start to pop lightly and darken a shade.
Rice, sautéed onion and carrot, chicken stock and cream all go into one baking dish, with chicken thighs laid skin side up on top. As they roast, their fat drips down into the rice. The foil has to be crimped tight; if steam escapes, the rice in the center stays hard.
Cut into the finished pot and the rice is white except where the saffron water landed, leaving scattered patches of gold. The yogurt and garam masala chicken sits at the bottom, so dig the spoon all the way down to serve rice and chicken together.
Like Japanese home curry, this one gets its body from a block of curry roux, with chicken thighs as the meat and enough in one pot for four plates. Only the potato is cut a little larger than the other vegetables, so it still has its shape after simmering.
Air-fried chicken tenders go onto the sesame-salt rice straight from the basket, while the coating is still hot and firm, and get rolled at once. Waiting lets moisture from the rice and lettuce soften the crust before the roll is even closed.
Chicken breast glazed in a soy, sugar and onion sauce is topped with scrambled egg and mayonnaise. The eggs cook in a separate pan and come off the heat before they fully set, and the mayo goes on in thin lines.
This two-serving chirashi-zushi arranges salmon and tuna sashimi, thin egg crepe, cucumber, blanched lotus root, and salmon roe over rice seasoned with sushi vinegar. Fold the seasoning into the warm rice without crushing the grains, spread it out, and let the steam escape before adding raw fish. Cook the egg in a thin sheet and cut it into 3 mm strips. Blanch the sliced lotus root for 1 minute and drain it well so excess water does not collect on the rice. Keep the sashimi refrigerated until assembly, blot only surface moisture with a clean paper towel, and serve the finished bowls immediately.