ジェーン・スー 生活は踊る · Society & Culture
リスナー情報コーナー：(火)教えてあなたの晩ごはん！
A listener called in to Jane Su: Seikatsu wa Odoru (ジェーン・スー 生活は踊る) to share how she scooped up 840 grams — more than 40 chestnuts — at her local agricultural co-op's chestnut grab event, besting her younger brother on sheer hand size and enthusiasm. She then walked through her full dinner prep: chestnut rice made with the easy-peel Porotan variety, foil-baked salmon, and kenchinjiru soup. Host Su-san declared it "the best — it's autumn!" twice.
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What this episode answers
How did the listener manage to get so many chestnuts?
She got them at a local agricultural co-op chestnut grab event — ¥500 entry per person, take home whatever you can grab with both hands. She went with her younger brother and out-grabbed him with both enthusiasm and bigger hands, walking away with 840 grams and more than 40 chestnuts.
What is Porotan, and why did she choose it?
Porotan is a relatively new cultivar whose skin slips off cleanly after heating. She chose it because a co-op staff member told her it was easy to peel, convincing her she could actually handle cooking it herself.
What prep method did she use to peel the hard outer shells?
She soaked the chestnuts in 40–50°C water for 30 minutes to soften the outer shell, removed the inner skin, then soaked them in cold water for about 20 minutes to prevent discoloration before putting them in the rice cooker.
Was chestnut rice the only dish she was making that evening?
She was also planning foil-baked salmon and kenchinjiru (root-vegetable and tofu soup) — a full autumn spread she and her husband would eat together.
If they can't finish 3 cups of chestnut rice between two people, what's the plan?
She planned to turn any leftover chestnut rice into rice balls the next day, charred bits from the bottom of the pot included.
Scooping 840 Grams at the Agricultural Co-op Chestnut Grab
The caller on this episode was the listener known by the radio name "Kezuya no Yoi Chiiki Neko" (ケズヤの良い地域猫), whose dinner plan for the evening was chestnut rice.
She sourced the chestnuts at a "chestnut grab" event held at her local agricultural co-op (農協). The rules were simple: pay ¥500 per person and take home whatever you can grab with both hands. She went with her younger brother, but outmatched him on both motivation and hand size, walking away with 840 grams and more than 40 chestnuts. Her brother came away with considerably less — apparently effort and hand size really do decide the outcome.
"I grabbed them on impulse and then thought, now what?" the listener admitted. Host Su-san (スーさん) — Jane Su (ジェーン・スー) — agreed immediately: "Chestnut rice is surprisingly delicious, but also surprisingly labor-intensive, isn't it?"
The Variety: Porotan — Chosen for Easy Peeling
The chestnuts she had grabbed were the Porotan (ポロタン) variety. A co-op staff member had told her the skins were easy to remove, which was the deciding factor: "If it's easy to peel, maybe I can actually cook these myself." Porotan is a relatively new cultivar whose skin slips off cleanly after heating — it has been appearing more and more in supermarkets lately. The chestnuts are also larger than standard varieties and satisfyingly filling. She tried roasting a few first and found them sweet and delicious. Su-san was intrigued: "They just pop right off — my brain can barely process that."
Prep: 30 Minutes in 40–50°C Water
She admitted she had let the 840 grams of chestnuts sit untouched for two days before working up the nerve to start. "You need a moment of resolve," Su-san said in solidarity. Today was finally the day.
The method she found online: soak the chestnuts in water heated to 40–50°C for 30 minutes. This softens the hard outer shell and makes peeling far more manageable. After removing the outer shell she also took off the inner skin, then soaked the chestnuts in water for about 20 minutes to prevent discoloration before adding them to the rice cooker. In practice, she said, it turned out to be surprisingly straightforward — Porotan's easy-peel quality clearly made the difference.
A Full Autumn Table: Foil-Baked Salmon and Kenchinjiru Too
Chestnut rice was not the only dish on the menu. She was also planning foil-baked salmon and kenchinjiru (けんちん汁), a root-vegetable and tofu soup — enough of an autumn spread that Su-san exclaimed "That's the best — it's autumn!" not once but twice. She and her husband would be sitting down to it together.
She was cooking 3 cups (3合) of rice. "For some reason you just keep eating chestnut rice even though it's more filling than plain rice," Su-san observed — a sentiment the listener shared wholeheartedly. Any leftovers would become rice balls the next day, charred bits from the bottom of the pot included. "The crispy parts are part of the fun," she said.
The "Co-op Grab Proxy Worker" Riff
The remarkable value — 840 grams for ¥500 — set off a running joke. Su-san proposed a business: station yourself in front of the co-op, charge each participant ¥100 while having them pay the ¥500 entry fee, and pocket the commission as the professional grabber. "You could knock one out every five minutes — an infinite profit loop," she laughed. The punchline arrived quickly: "And then get personally blacklisted by the agricultural co-op by name." The segment closed on a bright, laughing note.
Su-san wrapped up the corner with a parting thought: "Autumn comes to people who are actively enjoying autumn. Don't wait for it — go out and meet it."
Takeaways
- Agricultural co-op chestnut grab events (¥500 per person) are excellent value and surprisingly manageable if you target an easy-peel variety like Porotan — just bring enthusiasm and big hands.
- Soaking chestnuts in 40–50°C water for 30 minutes softens the outer shell, and Porotan's skin slips off even more readily after heating, making it the go-to choice for first-time chestnut cooks.
- Three cups of chestnut rice plus foil-baked salmon plus kenchinjiru is the ultimate autumn dinner spread — and turning the leftovers into rice balls the next day is part of the deal.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.