Main Dish

Japanese-Inspired Brown Rice and Millet

This vegan recipe from Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough’s “Grain Mains” (Rodale, $24.95) is inspired by a traditional Japanese dish served in the fall to celebrate the rice harvest. Mirin is a sweetened Japanese rice wine available at Asian groceries and some supermarkets. The recipe can be embellished for carnivores by sautéing 1/2 pound diced, boneless chicken thighs at the start of cooking. Add the mushrooms and shallots and continue with the recipe. Three cups low-sodium chicken broth can be used instead of vegetable broth.

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

5 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems discarded, caps thinly sliced

1 shallot, chopped

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled, minced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 cup medium-grain brown rice

1/2 cup millet

1/4 cup each soy sauce and mirin

3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 1/2 cups shelled edamame

1 1/2 cups jarred peeled chestnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat; swirl in the sesame oil. Add mushrooms and shallot. Cook, stirring, until just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 30 seconds.

Add rice and millet. Stir to coat the grains in the fat and liquid. Add soy sauce and mirin. As the liquid comes to a full bubble, scrape up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Stir in the broth, sweet potato, edamame and chestnuts. Raise heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally to keep the millet from sticking.

Cover and slide into the oven. Bake until the liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender, about 1 hour. Turn the oven off; leave covered pot in the oven to steam, 15 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 443 calories, 11 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 74 g carbohydrates, 13 g protein, 996 mg sodium, 7 g fiber.