Embrace the delightful contrast of temperatures and textures with this dish that brings together warm, buttery rice and a cool cucumber sauce, complemented by tangy pickles and eggs with soft centers. This combination creates a meal that is both refreshing and comforting, making it an ideal choice for a quick summer lunch or an easy weeknight dinner.
To create this dish, start by assembling the ingredients for the rice and eggs: you’ll need 200g of Japanese short-grain rice, two medium eggs, 40g of soft salted butter, and three finely sliced spring onions, along with salt and black pepper to taste. For the pickled cucumbers, prepare 200g of baby cucumbers sliced into rounds, a teaspoon of flaky sea salt, three tablespoons of caster sugar, 75ml of white-wine vinegar, a tablespoon of olive oil, a small handful of chopped fresh dill, and half a teaspoon of dried mint.
The cucumber sauce requires a large cucumber, peeled and deseeded, 100g of crème fraîche, a generous pinch of flaky salt, one garlic clove, and an ice cube. Start by making the pickles: toss the cucumber slices with salt in a heatproof bowl. In another heatproof bowl, mix 75ml of freshly boiled water with sugar and vinegar, then pour this over the salted cucumbers. Let them pickle while you prepare the rest.
Next, rinse the rice under cold water until clear, then cook it using a rice cooker or on the stove with 250ml of cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, and cover for about eight minutes. After removing from heat, let it sit covered for another 10 minutes. For the cucumber sauce, blend the cucumber with crème fraîche, salt, and garlic until smooth, then refrigerate with an ice cube to keep it cold.
Boil a saucepan of water and cook the eggs for seven minutes before rinsing them under cold water and peeling them. Drain the pickled cucumbers, then toss them with olive oil, dill, and mint. To serve, divide the warm rice between two bowls, adding pieces of butter to melt over the top. Spoon the chilled cucumber sauce around the rice, add the pickled cucumbers, and top with halved eggs. Finish with sliced spring onions and season the eggs with salt and freshly ground black pepper, serving immediately to enjoy the contrasting temperatures and textures.