Chicken-Tofu Rice

Three years ago my little daughter gave me a cookbook for my birthday: "Japanese Meals on the Go. Bento Boxes.", by Naomi Kijima. I did only one recipe so far, but I did it several times. The girls love it. And so do we. 

Chicken-Tofu Rice, adapted from "Japanese Meals on the Go. Bento Boxes.", by Naomi Kijima (p.18):

Ingredients

2 cups (360cc) uncooked rice

4 oz (100gr) boneless skinless chicken breast

1 aburage (tofu puffs) *

2 tbsp hijiki (edible brown algae) *

1 1/2'' (4 cm) carrots

2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sake

1/2 tbsp mirin

Method

1. Wash and drain the rice.

2. Cut the chicken into 1/3'' (1 cm) dice. Rinse the aburage with boiling water and julienne. Rinse the hijiki and soak in water. Cut into short lengths. Cut the carrots in half crosswise, then into matchsticks.

3. Place the rice in a rice cooker. Add the soy sauce, sake, and mirin. Add the amount of water specified by the manufacturer. Add the ingredients from Step2 and start the rice cooker.

4. When finished, allow the rice to steam for a few more minutes. Open and stir gently.

* You can skip these ingredients if you can't find them. It's still delicious.