So, here’s the thing. I hate eggs. I mean hate them. Unless they are mixed into something, like a cake mix or pasta dough, I generally don’t eat eggs. Strangely enough, though, I’ve always been really interested in how to prepare egg dishes. Scrambled eggs, omelets, poached, you name it, I’ve probably pondered over the cooking process at least once. So when I saw this recipe on Shokugeki no Soma, my heart skipped a beat.
Not only was there an egg dish, but this quick meal also included magic in the form of transforming cubes of chicken broth. My cooking senses tingled, and I leapt at the opportunity to try out a new technique. Funnily enough, this recipe actually gave me the idea to start this blog. Surely if I was dying to make this, someone else was, too?
How to Make Transforming Furikake Gohan
Let’s start at the beginning. There are 3 components to this dish: the rice, the eggs, and the transforming cubes of chicken stock. Despite the magical complexity of the transforming furikake, this is actually a pretty simple recipe to put together if you have the time. There is even a recipe in the manga, although I didn’t find it to be very accurate concerning the gelling process of the chicken stock. You can look at it below, but the recipe I write out below will be my version of this recipe.
The Chicken Stock
You basically have two options with how you decide to prepare this. You can take the long route, and make your own stock from scratch, or you can just buy pre-made stock from your local supermarket.
The benefits of making your own stock are these: When you simmer the chicken bones for a long time, the bones release collagen, which causes the broth to gel. This will naturally give you chicken stock that you can then cut into cubes for your gohan. Also, it will be very tasty and full of healthy, fresh ingredients.
The benefits of buying your stock are these: It saves you a lot of time, and you don’t have to buy all the flavoring agents for the broth.
I made my broth from scratch, but was curious to see just how firmly the chicken stock would set in the fridge. To test this, I portioned off some broth in one container, and added some gelatin to another portion of broth and put it in a separate container. By adding gelatin to some of the broth I’d made, I could be sure that the broth would set into a more firm jell consistency, which I knew would be easy to cut into cubes.
Below are the results of my experiment.
The stock on the left is the portion with gelatin, the stock on the right is the one without (it kinda splattered onto the cutting board when I tipped it out). As you can see, the one of the left is much firmer, and therefore cuts more easily into cubes. If you home-make your broth, I strongly suggest adding in gelatin, as it will make you life easier. If you buy your broth, you will have to add in gelatin to get the gel you want for this recipe. Below is an example of what the firmer stock looks like when cut into cubes.
So, now you can choose your own adventure!
Store Bought Route
2 cups store bought stock
1/2 packet of gelatin
1/2 cup soy sauce, or more to taste
1 tbs. sugar
1.5 tbs. sake
1.5 tbs. mirin
1 tbs. ginger paste or 1 tsp. ginger powder
Put stock, soy sauce, sugar, sake, mirin, and ginger in a pot and bring to a boil. Then, let simmer for a few minutes to let the ginger steep. After about 5 minutes, remove the ginger. Taste the broth, and add more soy sauce if it isn’t salty enough for you. As the eggs will be a bit sweet, it is good to make sure the broth is a little on the salty side to counter the eggs.
Meanwhile, mix a little of the broth in with the gelatin and let the gelatin bloom (fully absorb the liquid), about 10 minutes. When all the liquid has been absorbed, microwave the gelatin so that it is liquid and no lumps remain. Then, stir it into the broth. You can then pour this into a flat container, place in fridge, and let set overnight.
When fully set, tip your chicken aspic (aspic is the name for stocks when it has gelled) out onto a flat surface and cut into rough cubes. Smaller is probably better, but it is kinda delicate so larger cubes are a little easier to cut. Set in fridge or a cool area while you prepare the other ingredients. (If you don’t these things can actually just melt on their own. The broth I made that had no gelatin melted within ten minutes on the cutting board, though the gelatin held its shape a little better.)
Homemade Stock Route
Wow! I’m impressed you decided to make this from scratch. This recipe is identical to the stock recipe I used for my ramen post, but I’ve adjusted the amounts because you really don’t need that much broth for this recipe. Alternatively, if you made the ramen recipes, you can reserve a little of the stock for this recipe.
1 pound of chicken wings
1 quart water
1 small carrot, roughly cut
1 stalk celery, roughly cut
1 leek, whites only, roughly cut
quarter of cabbage, shredded
4 large garlic cloves, halved
1 inch ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
1 piece of kombu, 10 x 4 inches, wiped down with a damp cloth.
1/4 cup sake, plus 1.5 tbs to be used after draining the broth.
1/2 packet of gelatin
1/2 cup soy sauce or more, to taste
1 tbs. sugar
1.5 tbs mirin
Put the chicken and water in a stock pot over high heat, and bring to a simmer. Scoop off any scummy parts that rise to the top, and then turn heat to low and add in everything else. Simmer gently with the lid on for at least 2 hours. You can cook it up to 5 or 6 hours for more developed flavor, but it isn’t necessary. Then, sieve the liquid into another large container, and discard all the vegetables/bones/chicken.
Measure out 2 cups of your stock, and return it to the stove with the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Taste the broth, and add more soy sauce if it isn’t salty enough for you. As the eggs will be a bit sweet, it is good to make sure the broth is a little on the salty side to counter the eggs.
Meanwhile, mix a little of the broth in with the gelatin and let the gelatin bloom (fully absorb the liquid), about 5 minutes. When all the liquid has been absorbed, microwave the gelatin so that it is fluid and no lumps remain. Then, stir it into the broth. You can then pour this into a flat container, place in fridge, and let set overnight.
When fully set, tip your chicken aspic (aspic is the name for stocks when it has gelled) out onto a flat surface and cut into rough cubes. Smaller is probably better, but it is kinda delicate so larger cubes are a little easier to cut. Set in fridge or a cool area while you prepare the other ingredients. (If you don’t these things can actually just melt on their own. The broth I made that had no gelatin melted within ten minutes on the cutting board, though the gelatin held its shape a little better.)
The Eggs (recipe for 1 serving)
2-4 eggs, depending on how hungry you are.
1/2-1 tbs sugar, depending on how many eggs you use.
pinch of salt
small pat of butter
Crack the eggs into a pan, add the butter, sugar, and salt. Put the pan over med-low heat, and begin to scramble.
I used a whisk to achieve small pieces of egg, but I’ve heard that 4 chopsticks held together will also achieve the same effect. (If you use chopsticks, make sure they are cooking chopsticks!) Keep whisking the eggs about continually. They will cook slowly at first, but then faster as they are on the heat longer. If they start to cook too fast, pick the pan up from the stove and allow to cool slightly while still stirring. You don’t want to dry the eggs out too much, so as soon as the eggs have all formed little pieces, but still look a little wet, they are done.
The Rice (1 serving)
1/3-1/2 cup dry rice, depending on how hungry you are.
Cook according to instructions on package, or according to rice cooker instructions.
Assembly!
Quickly chop up the green part of a green onion. Don’t make the same mistake I did and use a stack of books as a tripod.
This is the best part! Get your camera out and ready to capture a photo if you want, because the transforming furikake melts quickly.
First, place rice into a bowl of your choice. Sprinkle some aspic cubes down on the rice, and be generous. These will melt quickly, but that’s ok. The goal here is to get maximum flavor coating your rice. Then, place your eggs on top, and sprinkle generously with more aspic cubes. Garnish with green onion all over, and you’re done!
Final Thoughts
I liked it! I kinda felt a little sick while eating it, but only because I, like I said, hate eggs. The eggs tasted good, but the texture creeped me out. However, the melting aspic cubes were so delicious, and the flavors mingled perfectly with the egg!
Now, you could be asking, if the broth needs to set overnight AND it takes at least 2 hours to boil out, could Souma really have made this in like 1 hour?
Well….yes, technically. Sorta. All well-stocked professional kitchens will likely have a home made stock on hand, because they are so good and add so much depth to dishes, while at the same time being relatively cheap to manufacture. Chicken wings, backs, and necks, the parts that release the most collagen, are really cheap. So, it’s possible that Souma could have just used some already stocked in the kitchen.
However, I do think they showed him boiling something in the episode, which would indicate he really made it from scratch. In that case, no, he could not have made it in time for the presentation of the dish. The aspic just takes too long to set, even if he had put it in the freezer or mixed in ice cubes to cool it down.
Bonus: Check out the melting furikake below!
That’s all! Thanks so much for reading 🙂 I’m having a lot of fun with this blog so far. Make sure to like this post, and show it to other people! The more feedback I get in the form of likes, comments, and views really helps me to know what people like and encourages me to keep going.