Name: Simplified Chestnut Rice Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 3 cups of jasmine rice; 1 cup of whole chestnuts; 1/2 cup of crushed chestnuts

The original Japanese chestnut rice (kuri gohan 栗ご飯) requires several ingredients such as mirin, hondashi and sake to make. It is surely delicious; however, it’s not easy for me to have all these flavorings at home. So, I made a very simplified recipe of Chestnut Rice, with only Chestnut and Rice, packing the sweetness and nutrition of this wonderful nut into daily steamed rice. This is another way to enjoy chestnut in the last months of the year, beside basic roasted or boiled chestnuts.

To make Chestnut Rice, you can take some uncooked chestnut to prepare before cooking with rice. Otherwise, you can also steal some from a roasted/boiled chestnut batch and add them to a rice cooker with rice. Let’s start.

Ingredients

As a simple version of Japanese Chestnut Rice, you’ll only need two ingredients:

Chestnut: Unlike other types of nuts, chestnuts are not oily or crunchy but starchy and sweet, which are similar with rice. They are sweeter than rice and have a pleasant nutty fragrance; thanks to these, they can upgrade your day-to-day cooked rice to a new level. They are also nutritious, low in fat, high in carbohydrates, vitamin C, fiber and potassium.

Rice: I used jasmine rice, a popular type of rice in supermarket. It’s sticky and also has a pleasant fragrance like jasmine. The balance between tenderness and stickiness makes jasmine rice stick together but still remain fluffy after cooking.

Equipment

You can either use rice cooker or instant pot to cook chestnut rice quickly and conveniently. Cooking on stove is way more sophisticated as you have to pay attention during cooking time to avoid uneven cook and burning.

To score chestnuts, you can use a sharp knife, or chestnut clip. Chestnut clip would be easier and safer to use, otherwise, a knife can do it well with a bit more attention.

You can buy it on Amazon by clicking the links below:

How to Cook Chestnut Rice

Prepare Chestnuts

To cook this tasty nutty rice, firstly you’ll need to prepare your chestnuts. There are two options:

Option 1. You take some of roasted or boiled chestnuts, peel the skins, then add to your rice. This is my favorite method because I can save my time preparing chestnut. I usually bake a large batch of chestnuts to eat and to use as an ingredient for other dishes like this dish. After peeling, I store the nuts in fridge (maximum 3 days) and in freezer (maximum 3 months). You can refer to my guide on how to cook chestnuts on stove, in oven and in air fryer.

how to cook chestnuts — Peeled chestnuts

Option 2. You prepare a whole new batch of chestnut for making rice. After washing chestnuts and scoring the skins to peel easily and avoid bursting, you must boil them. When the water starts to boil, boil your chestnuts in 3 minutes. This is for softening the skin so you can easily peel it to add to rice.

boiled chestnuts — Boil chestnuts in 3 minutes to easily peel the skin.

To mix these two ingredients well so that I can enjoy every piece of cooked rice with chestnuts pieces inside, I separate my chestnuts into 2 parts. I crush a part into crumbs and keep the rest intact.

Prepare Jasmine Rice

Place the desired amount of rice in the pot and rinse it under cold water 1-2 times until the water runs clear. Then, drain out all the water.

Mixing Jasmine Rice and Chestnuts

When the ingredients are ready, mix the crushed chestnuts with jasmine rice evenly in the cooking pot of a rice cooker, instant pot or a regular pot if cooking on stove. Place whole chestnuts on top of the rice, slightly press them down a bit into the rice.

Pour the water in to the rice & chestnut mix. Regarding the amount of water, you should use roughly 1 to 1.2 cups of water for every cup of rice. A simpler method is using your hand to check the water level. Typically, the water should reach about one knuckle’s height above the rice. hey’re all ready to cook.

Cooking Chestnut Rice

If you have a rice cooker, just return the pot into the cooker, turn it to “cook” and wait until it turns to “warm”. The cooking time is around 15-20 minutes.

In case you use instant pot, carefully lock the Instant Pot lid in place and set the valve to the sealing position. Choose automatic “rice” setting. On low pressure, set the cooking time to 15 minutes. On high pressure, the cooking time is only 5 minutes.

To cook rice on stove, it’s a bit more complicated. Place cooking pot on high heat until boiling. Once it boils, reduce the to low heat, and stir the rice gently to prevent sticking. Close the lid to simmer the rice and continue to stir it after every 5 minutes. After 20-25 minutes since boiling, the rice will be fully cooked. Remember to check the doneness of the grains before removing it from heat. Let the rice set for 5-10 minutes more.

Now your rice is ready. Serve them hot for the best taste. Top your rice bowl with a pinch of white and black sesame if any.

You can eat chestnut rice with every dish, from chicken breast in teriyaki sauce, honey ginger chicken, meatballs, tofu, boiled/steamed vegetables, etc. I also made braised pork belly with chestnut to eat with this rice, super good!

Store Chestnut Rice

Chestnut Rice can be stored in your fridge for 3-4 days. However, I recommend consuming it as soon as possible to enjoy the original sweetness of rice and chestnuts. In freezer, it can last until 3 months, but always remember to label the cooked rice or else you can easily forget to eat it.

To reheat, simply microwave them in 5-7 minutes. Hot chestnut rice will be ready for you.

Other Chestnut Dishes

Below are some suggestions for you to try with Chestnuts. Let’s make: