Kinoko takikomi gohan (きのこの炊き込みご飯) is Japanese mushroom rice: short-grain rice cooked with mushrooms, carrot, and fried tofu in a lightly seasoned dashi broth, all in the rice cooker. Mushroom rice is the classic autumn rice dish in Japan, and once the weather cools down it’s one of the dinners we make most at home.

I followed a recipe from Kayanoya, the Japanese dashi brand, with one change: it calls for fresh shiitake, and I didn’t have any, so I added 100g of chicken thigh instead. That turned it into a fuller one-bowl meal. The other thing worth knowing is how the dashi goes in — you tear open a dashi packet and pour the ground bonito and kombu straight into the rice, so nothing gets strained out.

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Japanese mushroom rice (kinoko takikomi gohan) with chicken, carrot, and green onion in a white bowl

The Short Answer

If you just want the method:

What it is: Japanese mushroom rice — rice cooked in the rice cooker with shimeji, maitake, carrot, fried tofu (aburaage), and here, chicken thigh.
The seasoning: for 2 rice-cooker cups of rice, 400 ml water, 2 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and the contents of 1 dashi packet.
The trick: soak the mushrooms and fried tofu in the seasoned liquid for 10 minutes before cooking, and lay the chicken on top instead of stirring it in.
How it’s cooked: on the regular white rice setting. Fold everything together with a rice paddle as soon as it’s done.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The rice cooker does the work. Cut, measure, press start. No pot to watch.
Every grain is seasoned. The rice cooks in the dashi and soy broth, so the flavor goes all the way through.
A complete meal in one bowl. With chicken added, it’s rice, protein, and vegetables together.
Great leftovers. It makes excellent onigiri the next day.

What is Kinoko Takikomi Gohan?

Takikomi gohan means “rice cooked together with things” — seasoned Japanese mixed rice, cooked with vegetables, meat, or fish right in the rice. Kinoko means mushrooms, and the mushroom version is the classic autumn takikomi gohan in Japan. It’s everyday home food rather than something you order at a restaurant, and every family has its own mix of ingredients.

This is the fourth rice cooker takikomi gohan on this blog. If you like it, try the salmon takikomi gohan, the summer corn rice, or tai meshi with sea bream.

Ingredients (2 Rice-Cooker Cups)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Japanese short-grain rice	2 rice-cooker cups (360 ml)	Rinsed and drained
Shimeji mushrooms	½ pack (about 50g)	Base trimmed, separated
Maitake mushrooms	½ pack (about 50g)	Torn into pieces
Chicken thigh	100g (3½ oz)	Cut into small pieces; my substitute for 2 fresh shiitake
Aburaage (fried tofu pouch)	1 sheet	Cut into thin strips
Carrot	¼	Cut into small pieces
Dashi packet	1 packet (8g)	Torn open — the contents go in
Water	400 ml (about 1⅔ cups)	Seasoned liquid
Sake	2 tbsp	Seasoned liquid
Soy sauce	1 tbsp	Seasoned liquid
Green onion	A little	Optional, chopped, for topping

Use Japanese short-grain rice — long-grain rice won’t absorb the broth the same way. For the dashi, I used a Kayanoya dashi packet, the one the recipe is written for. Any good packet of ground bonito and kombu that you can tear open will work; Kuze Fuku dashi packets are the ones I use day to day. My soy sauce is a sweet Kyushu soy sauce, which makes the rice slightly sweeter than a standard soy sauce would.

Cooking sake, Kyushu soy sauce, and a dashi packet on the counter next to the rice cooker bowl of rinsed rice

How to Make Japanese Mushroom Rice

Step 1: Prep the Mushrooms, Carrot, Fried Tofu, and Chicken

Cut off the base of the shimeji and separate them, and tear the maitake into bite-sized pieces. Cut the carrot into small pieces and the aburaage into thin strips. Cut the chicken thigh into small, bite-sized pieces. Rinse the rice and drain it.

Torn maitake, separated shimeji mushrooms, strips of fried tofu, and carrot pieces on a cutting board

Step 2: Mix the Seasoned Liquid and Soak for 10 Minutes

In a bowl, mix the water, sake, and soy sauce. Tear open the dashi packet and pour the contents into the liquid, then stir well. Add the mushrooms, carrot, and fried tofu and leave them for 10 minutes. This gives the mushrooms and tofu a head start on soaking up the flavor.

Step 3: Add Everything to the Rice Cooker, Chicken on Top

Pour the seasoned liquid and vegetables over the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Spread them out evenly and lay the chicken on top. Don’t stir everything into the rice: ingredients mixed through the raw rice can stop it from cooking evenly.

Mushrooms, carrot, fried tofu, and raw chicken thigh pieces on top of rice in seasoned dashi broth in the rice cooker bowl

Step 4: Cook on the Regular Setting

Cook on your rice cooker’s normal white rice setting. If your machine has a takikomi (mixed rice) setting, use that. Mine is an Iris Ohyama rice cooker, a Japanese brand that isn’t sold in the US. If you’re looking for one there, the Zojirushi 5.5-cup rice cooker is a popular Japanese-brand choice, though I haven’t used that model myself.

Step 5: Fold Together and Serve

As soon as it’s done, open the lid and fold everything together with a rice paddle, cutting through the rice rather than stirring so it doesn’t get mushy. Serve in bowls with a little chopped green onion on top.

Freshly cooked Japanese mushroom rice in the rice cooker, the rice browned from the soy and dashi broth

A bowl of kinoko takikomi gohan with chicken, maitake, carrot, and chopped green onion on a wooden table

Tips and Variations

Use any mix of mushrooms. Shiitake (in the original recipe), enoki, eryngii (king oyster), or button mushrooms all work. Mixing two or three kinds gives the best flavor.
Chicken thigh, not breast. Thigh stays tender through the long cook; breast tends to dry out.
Don’t skip the fried tofu. Aburaage soaks up the broth and adds richness. Find it in the refrigerated or freezer section of Asian grocery stores.
Keep the liquid measured. The 400 ml includes everything for 2 cups of rice. Don’t add water to the rice cooker’s own line on top of it, or the rice will be soft.

What to Serve It With

A bowl of miso soup — mixed rice and miso soup is a complete Japanese lunch.
Grilled or simmered fish for a fuller dinner.
A small pickle or a vinegared salad on the side.

Storing and Reheating

Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, or freeze single portions wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a month. Reheat in the microwave with a sprinkle of water. Leftover takikomi gohan also makes very good onigiri — shape it while it’s warm, and it’s ready for a bento the next day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make Japanese mushroom rice in a regular rice cooker?

Yes. Use the normal white rice setting. Just measure the liquid yourself (400 ml for 2 rice-cooker cups here) instead of filling to the line, because the soy sauce and sake count as part of the liquid.

Can I use dashi powder instead of a dashi packet?

Yes. Use about 1 teaspoon of instant dashi granules in place of the packet contents, and taste the liquid before cooking — instant dashi is usually saltier, so you may want a little less soy sauce. No dashi at all? See my guide to dashi substitutes.

Why tear open the dashi packet?

Some dashi packets contain finely ground bonito and kombu that are meant to be eaten. Pouring the contents straight into the rice adds more flavor than steeping the packet and removing it.

What is aburaage?

Aburaage is thin, deep-fried tofu, sold in sheets or pouches. In takikomi gohan it soaks up the broth and adds a mild richness. It’s the same fried tofu used in kitsune udon.

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