Kamameshi (釜飯 "kettle rice") is a Japanese rice dish traditionally cooked in an iron pot called a kama. Many varieties exist, but most consist of rice seasoned with soy sauce or mirin, and cooked with meats and vegetables. In modern times, it is often considered a type of takikomi gohan (mixed rice dish).
History
Kamameshi originally referred to rice that was eaten communally from the kama. Coworkers or family members either ate directly from the kama pot or by transferring the rice to individual bowls.
The term emerged in the late Meiji period, and is associated with the communal eating of rice in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.
Later, similar to takikomi gohan, kamameshi came to refer to a type of Japanese pilaf cooked with various types of meat, seafood, and vegetables and flavored with soy sauce, sake, or mirin.
Ekiben
Kamameshi is sometimes served in
ekiben, or
bento boxes purchased at train stations. A small-scale replica of the
kama is used to create an individual serving of kamameshi. A well known example is
tōge no kamameshi, sold at Karuizawa Station in Nagano Prefecture, using a
Mashiko ware kettle.
Similar dishes
Many
East Asian cuisines also prepare rice in a similar way using a clay pot or stone bowl. In China it is known as
guō fàn (
鍋飯) or, in Cantonese
claypot rice (煲仔飯), and in Korea
dolsot bibimbap (돌솥 비빔밥)
Gallery
File:Lunch on a train (3258952125).jpg
File:Rice cooked with vegetables and chicken (14901367551).jpg
File:Bamboo shoot rice, kinome herb; green pea soup, prawn dumpling, udo stalk; pickled chopped eggplant, salt-pickled rapini, pickled daikon radish (19317851312).jpg
File:Dishes at Japanese restaurant in Shibuya Stream 2.jpg
File:上野ー釜めし春 (27647348659).jpg|Kamameshi cooking in the kama
