• COOK RICE:
• Take a 20cm diameter soup pot (preferably with a glass lid so you can see what’s happening down there), and add 300 g short grain rice.
• To cook delicious rice, there are two important details you need to grasp. The first is washing and the second is soaking. The purpose of washing the rice is to remove the starch from the surface of the grain and helps make the rice taste soft and waxy while still grainy and shiny. The purpose of soaking is to control the taste of the rice, the longer the soaking time, the more delicate the taste.Add enough water to a pot to cover the rice and gently stir a few times; the water will almost immediately become cloudy. Strain the water out, and with your fingers quickly and gently stir the rice. This process is called “grinding the rice” which must be done with a certain amount of delicacy so as not to cause too much friction between the grains and thereby damaging them.After stirring 20 times or so, rinse the rice with water again and strain. Repeat the grinding and rinsing twice more for a total agitation of 60 times. After the last grinding, rinse 2-3 times with water and then strain.
• Soaking is actually not done by immersing the rice in water; rather the agitation process has caused about 40-50 ml of water to adhere to the grains, so all you need to do is let it sit. Set the wet rice in a strainer over a bowl for about 30 minutes. The water on the surface of the grains will gradually penetrate the rice, and it will change from translucent to milky white.
• After soaking, pour the rice into the pan and then pour enough water so that the total weight of water and rice reaches 780 grams (300 grams of water + 480 grams of water). Filtered water gives the best results and slightly enhances the flavor of the rice.
• Put the pot on the stove to boil which should take about 4-5 minutes. Once bubbles begin to appear on the bottom of the pot, turn the stove down to low (the lower, the better) to continue simmering for 18 minutes and then turn off. Let the rice stand in the covered pot for another 8 minutes.When you finally open the lid, turn the rice several times with a wooden or silicone shovel, scraping along the inner wall of the pot. The purpose of this is to release the water vapor, so the rice doesn’t become too soft and collapses, which weakens the taste. When the hot rice comes in contact with cold air, it quickly shrinks so that the surface of the rice is fuller and more flexible. At this point, we can say that rice is done.

Stock Component Ingredients (makes 1 liter):

• Take an 18 cm diameter soup pot, add 1 liter of water, and cut the kelp into 5-6 cm long sections straight into the pot.
• Soak the kelp in the cold water for 30 minutes and then heat it on the stove for 15 minutes until the water in the pot begins to bubble at the bottom, but is not quite boiling. Do not boil the water or it will make the garlic flavor too strong, and will dominate the other flavors.Remove the kelp.These are the bonito flakes.
• Put the bonito flakes into the pot, and bring to the boil. Turn off the hotplate, cover with the lid and put it aside for 10 minutes so that the flavor of the bonito flakes infuses into the kelp water.
• Strain the stock into a dish.

Beef Component Ingredients (serves 2):

• Cut the onions vertically.
• Take a 24cm diameter heavy based non-stick pan and add the stock.Next, add the mirin, sake and soy sauce.
• Add the sugar, and then taste test the liquid. It will taste quite fishy but don’t worry; it will develop nicely as it cooks. Bring the liquid to the boil.
• Add the sliced onion and boil for 3 minutes.
• Add the thawed beef slices. Note that the beef must be thawed in advance if you add frozen fat directly into the pot, the inner and outer layers of fat will cook differently.
• Continue to simmer for 10 minutes, gently turning the pieces of beef, so they heat evenly. After about 10 minutes the liquid will have reduced and concentrated, and be full of flavor. You should not need any extra salt, but if it’s not salty enough for your taste, you can add a little more at this point.
• Take two large serving bowls and put some rice into each. Spoon some of the beef and onion mixture on top of the rice, and top with a hot spring egg in the middle. Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
• Finally, pour on some of the sauce so that it soaks into the rice.