Donabe Mackerel and Daikon Rice

In a donabe, combine the rinsed pre-washed rice, water, dashi kombu, sake, mirin, and light soy sauce. Cover and let soak for about 30 minutes.

Strain the canned mackerel, separating the fish from the liquid; flake it coarsely. Peel the daikon thickly. Cut some into 1 cm cubes for the rice and into quarter rounds for the soup. Finely chop the daikon greens and mitsuba.

Add the cubed daikon to the donabe, set on the stove, and heat over medium-high. In a separate pot, combine the daikon quarter-rounds, the canned mackerel liquid, and a splash of sake; turn on the heat.

When the soup boils, add the chopped daikon greens and season with shirodashi and salt. Once the daikon is tender enough to slide a chopstick through, turn off the heat, add the mitsuba, and cover.

When the donabe boils vigorously and steams, lower the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes.

While the rice cooks, heat a frying pan dry (no oil) and add the flaked mackerel. Sear over high heat to drive off moisture; once fragrant, drizzle soy sauce on the hot pan edge to slightly caramelize. Add plenty of black pepper for spice.

When the rice is done, open the donabe lid, remove the kombu, add the seared mackerel, and immediately re-cover. Briefly turn the heat back on for 10 seconds, then turn it off and let rest for 10 minutes.

Open the donabe and scatter the mitsuba and toasted sesame on top. Toss lightly and serve with the soup.