Satsumaimo Gohan, or rice with Japanese Sweet Potatoes, is a classic and popular fall dish.
Japan is all about eating seasonally and seasonal foods. One of the most popular fall foods is Satsumaimo, or Japanese Sweet Potato. This starchy, buttery, and sweet potato is great for putting in all sorts of dishes. When cooked, it has an almost creamy texture.
Making Satsumaimo Gohan (rice with Japanese Sweet Potatoes) is a popular way of enjoying satsumaimo when the season rolls around. It’s extremely easy to make and highlights the sweet potato perfectly. It’s actually a type of takikomi gohan, which is when rice is cooked with various ingredients in it (rather than putting ingredients in or on the rice after the rice is cooked).
What kind of rice do I use?
As this is a Japanese dish, Japanese rice (sometimes called “sushi rice” or “sticky rice”) is used. Either a short grain or medium grain Japanese rice will work. Some people mix half regular rice and half mochigome, glutinous rice that is used to make mochi, but I typically just use all regular rice. I have some rice options linked below in the “Shop this post” section or in my Pantry.
No rice cooker? No problem!
I use a rice cooker for this recipe (as it’s the easiest way to make this dish) but if you don’t have a rice cooker, you can easily make this on the stove!
Instead of putting all the ingredients into a rice cooker, put it into a donabe (Japanese traditional earthenware pot) or regular pot. Here’s how to make it in a pot (follow the regular recipe up until the “turn on the rice cooker” step).
- Cover the pot with a lid and set over medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Other recipe notes & tips
I also sometimes like adding dashi instead of water or adding some powdered chicken bouillon to the water when cooking. It adds a little more savory flavor. Highly recommend trying this!
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Satsumaimo Gohan (Japanese Sweet Potato Rice) / さつまいもご飯
Ingredients
- 1 Satsumaimo (Japanese Sweet Potato)
- 2 rice cups short or medium grain Japanese rice
- 3 cups water
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut satsumaimo into 2 cm cubes. Soak in cold water for 15 minutes.
- Wash rice. Put rice and water into a rice cooker (or pot).
- Add the sake, mirin, and salt to the rice and water. Mix.
- Put the satsumaimo pieces into the rice cooker (no need to mix at this point).
- Close the rice cooker and cook according to manufacturer instructions. (If you do not have a rice cooker, see my blog post above for how to make this in a donabe or pot on the stove).
- Once cooked, mix/fluff the rice in the rice cooker.
- Serve the satsumaimo rice topped with some goma-shio.
Notes
Shop this post:
Goma Shio / 黒ごま塩
Rice Bowl Set
Rice Bowl Set
Totoro Rice Bowl
Rice Paddle
Japanese Short Grain Koshihikari Rice (Shirakiku)
California-grown Medium Grain Japanese Rice
Rice Cooker
Ricer Cooker
Mirin / みりん
More items can be shopped in my Pantry, my Tools, or my Amazon shop.
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