# Keihan (Chicken rice) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Keihan (Chicken rice)

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Amami area

## Main Ingredients Used
Rice, chicken, dried shiitake mushrooms, eggs, papaya miso-zuke, green onions, tangerine peels, seaweed

## History, Origin, and Related Events
“Keihan (Chicken rice)" is a typical local dish of the Amami region. It consists of shredded chicken meat, dried shiitake mushrooms, thin strips of egg, papaya preserved in miso and mandarin orange peel on white rice, which is served with chicken stock soup. It is said to have originated in the Amami Islands, which were once under the control of the Satsuma domain, and was created to soften the intimidating attitude of officials coming from the Kagoshima mainland. The officials were treated to "Keihan (chicken rice)", which was made with all the ingredients of chicken, an extremely valuable food at the time. Then, it was not yet customary to pour soup over the food, and it was eaten in the style of cooked chicken rice. Since the beginning of the Showa period (1926-1989), the arrangement of adding chicken soup over it became popular, and it is now a common practice.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Commonly eaten throughout the year. It is often prepared and eaten at celebratory occasions and hospitality events.

## How to Eat
Put chicken stock and ginger in a pot of water and heat, then add chicken meat (white meat) and boil. When the chicken is cooked, let it cool and tear it into thin strips, and strain the remaining liquid to make soup. Cut shiitake mushrooms and string beans into thin strips, and broil eggs. After preparing rice, arrange the ingredients colorfully on the rice and pour the soup over the rice. It is best to use less rice and more broth, and to eat the soup as if you were slurping it down.The broth is made from chicken bones and has a very rich flavor, which is combined with the delicious collagen. When made simply at home, chicken soup stock is sometimes used.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
In addition to being made at home, there are many specialty stores on the Kagoshima mainland, especially in the Amami area, and each store has its own unique way of making ingredients and soup.In Kagoshima Prefecture, it is also very popular as a school lunch menu item. In addition, frozen or pouch products containing the ingredients and soup, as well as freeze-dried products, have also been commercialized and are popular as souvenirs.

## Ingredients
- Rice: 320g
- Water: 480cc
- Chicken bones: 240g
- Water: 800cc
- Ginger (thinly sliced): a pinch
- Chicken Meat: 60g
- A] Salt: A pinch
- A] Sake: 2 tsp.
- A] Light soy sauce: 1 tbsp.
- A] Hon mirin (Japanese sweet cooking rice wine): 2 tsp.
- Dried shiitake mushroom: 8g
- Dried shiitake mushroom stock: 80cc
- B] light soy sauce: 2 tsp.
- B] Hon mirin (Japanese sweet cooking rice wine): 1 tsp.
- Eggs: 2
- C] Sugar: A pinch
- C] Salt: A pinch
- Sugar flavored string beans: 80g
- salt: A pinch
- Green onion leaves: 20g
- Papaya pickled in miso: 40g
- mandarin orange peel: a little
- Grilled laver: a little

## Recipe
1. 1. (Preparation) Wash and soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water and use the soaked water as soup stock. Wash rice 30 minutes before cooking and soak in enough water to cover. Wash chicken bones well and remove excess. Finely chop the leaf green onion, papaya with miso paste, mandarin orange peel, and shred the grilled nori seaweed.
2. 2. Cook rice normally.
3. 3. Put chicken stock and peeled ginger in a pot with 800 cc of water and heat.
4. 4. After simmering over low heat for about 1 hour while removing the starch, add the chicken meat and boil.
5. 5. Remove the chicken meat and tear into small pieces. Strain the broth and add A and use as a soup.
6. 6. Put B and the broth from the dried shiitake mushrooms on the fire and cook the shredded shiitake mushrooms.
7. 7. Boil string beans in salted water and cut into thin strips.
8. 8. Arrange the chicken, shiitake mushrooms, broiled egg, string beans, green onions, pickled papaya, mandarin orange peels, and nori on a plate.
9. 9. Place the rice in a bowl, top with the 8 ingredients, and serve with a dollop of the soup from step 5.

## Provider Information
provider : "Collection of Local Food Dishes" (National Council of School Nutritionists)

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