"Hell Numa," a Spicy Weight-Loss Rice Dish You Just Put in a Rice Cooker: Ryuji's Take on Numa

According to Ryuji, "Numa" is a rice-cooker dish built mainly around rice and chicken breast, with plenty of vegetables. The result is close to rice porridge. Because it uses no oil, it's low in calories, and the idea is that eating it gives you a balanced diet. Ryuji also lists as advantages that you can make a lot at once and refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.

When a staff member asked, "Is it green?", Ryuji answered, "It's red." Comparing it to the blood pond of hell, Ryuji described it as a spicy numa. In Ryuji's estimation, it's only mildly spicy, so it's perfectly easy to eat. For people who want it hotter, the answer was a half-joking one: put in a whole bottle of shichimi and it will get spicy in a hurry.

The ingredients are as follows. You barely need a knife.

• Rice: 1 go (150g)
• Komatsuna: 100g
• Frozen okra (chopped): 150g (1 bag)
• Garlic: 15g
• Chicken breast: 350g (1 piece)
• Kimchi: 150g
• Doubanjiang: 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Salt: a pinch
• Hondashi: 2 teaspoons
• Water: 650cc
• Natto, for changing up the flavor

First, put 150g of rice in the rice cooker's inner pot and wash it. Washing it the usual way is fine; Ryuji says "honestly, you could almost skip washing it," but washes it anyway for those who care.

For the komatsuna, cut off just the end of the root and tear the rest into the pot by hand. Ryuji notes that some people throw away the part near the root, but it's tasty, so please eat it, and calls on viewers to reduce food waste. The okra goes in straight from the bag, frozen and already chopped. It melts as it cooks, so there's no need to thaw it. About 150g of kimchi goes in. Pointing out that it's a fermented food, Ryuji says it's also good for gut health.

The chicken breast goes in whole. Asked about the skin, Ryuji answered that people who mind it can remove it, but Ryuji doesn't. The skin itself is high in calories, but in Ryuji's view the amount attached to a piece of chicken is fine to eat. Ryuji also dislikes the fact that removing it means throwing it away. Ryuji's position is that people who are strict about it can take it off, and that a little fat is actually good for your health.

The garlic is optional, but adding it makes the dish considerably tastier. Cut it into about two pieces and put it in; by the time the rice is cooked, it will be meltingly soft, so you can just stir to break it up.

The core of the seasoning is doubanjiang. Ryuji uses Sichuan doubanjiang but says other kinds are fine too. Since it's both quite salty and quite spicy, the amount is kept to 1 1/2 teaspoons. This is what gives the dish its "hellish" quality. Ryuji also says that the pungent compound in chili peppers has a fat-burning effect. If you don't like spicy food, you can swap the doubanjiang for miso, which leaves only the heat from the kimchi.

Next, add 2 teaspoons of hondashi and a pinch of salt, and finally 650cc of water. Ryuji used filtered water, saying that it feels like filtered water makes it cook up tastier, that this kind of feeling is important, and that food you make while believing it will definitely be delicious turns out delicious. That's quite a lot of liquid.

Because of the kimchi and garlic, Ryuji explains, the dish has a real punch and genuinely feels like you've eaten something.

If you cook strongly scented ingredients like kimchi and garlic in a rice cooker, won't the smell linger? According to Ryuji, this is a common question. The answer is "it doesn't." Ryuji often makes numa in the rice cooker at home and cooks lots of garlic in it, and checked with the staff that cooking plain rice afterward hasn't caused any noticeable smell. Ryuji states clearly that if you wash it properly the smell won't linger, so there's no need to worry.

Once the pot is set, cook it on the regular rice setting, not the mixed-rice setting. According to Ryuji, the original numa calls for keeping it on the warm setting for about another hour after it finishes cooking, but you can do without that step. Just cooking it normally makes the chicken tender enough to pull apart with a rice paddle. If you want it even more tender, keep it warm for about 30 minutes after cooking. If you're in a hurry, it's fine as is. It takes about an hour to cook, and you can leave it alone the whole time.

Ryuji recommended natto, which wasn't mentioned when the ingredients were introduced, as a way to change up the flavor. Natto is a fermented food, has a sticky texture, and is low in calories. However, cooking it in would definitely leave a smell, so it doesn't go in the rice cooker. Instead, add it on top when eating and mix it in. Ryuji says people who like natto should prepare some, and those who don't can just eat the dish as is.

Ryuji explains that the original numa was introduced on the YouTube channel "Muscle Grill." Muscle Grill has also put out recipes like "Magma" and "Cement." The dish is originally meant for people building their bodies, but since it also works for dieting, Ryuji used it as a reference. That said, Ryuji emphasized that the seasoning is entirely Ryuji's own.

During the cooking, Ryuji shared a personal philosophy on weight-loss meals. Because weight-loss meals are an everyday thing, anything that takes a lot of effort won't last. Ryuji can sort of understand people who want to put in effort for their health, but basically, it won't last unless it's easy, and the reason people give up on weight-loss meals is that they're a hassle. That's why, in Ryuji's view, the easier a weight-loss meal is, the better the recipe. On top of that, Ryuji is convinced that Ryuji's weight-loss meals are easier and tastier than anyone's, declaring to be supremely confident. This recipe, which barely requires a knife, is also made in line with that philosophy.

The finished numa wasn't as thin and runny as rice porridge, but had a thick, creamy consistency. The garlic was meltingly soft as well. The highlight is the chicken breast, which comes apart just by pressing the rice paddle into it. Normally some people would take it out and cut it on a cutting board, but here everything is done right in the pot. As you break it up, the meat keeps shredding apart. How much you shred it is up to you, and you can use scissors too. When you mix everything together, the chicken breast spreads throughout the dish as a source of protein.

The staff were surprised at how much volume there was for just 1 go of rice. Even after filling a rice bowl generously, there was still more left in the pot, and Ryuji says it makes several meals' worth. A bowlful is filling on its own, and Ryuji says the flavor is close to jjigae.

Ryuji and the staff both reacted with "Delicious." The heat was at a level the staff could handle. Ryuji keeps the seasoning on the light side, so Ryuji recommends sprinkling on some salt if it's not enough. There's no oil in it at all, and Ryuji estimated that a bowlful contains about 30g of rice, maybe even less. Even so, it's hearty.

The natto was mixed with its included sauce and mustard before being added to the numa. It went well with the kimchi, and the staff also rated the version with natto highly. Ryuji says that this way, the dish is very low in calories while still giving you proper amounts of protein and vegetables. With okra, komatsuna, kimchi, and natto in it, Ryuji says it's well balanced too. Ryuji also says it's so satisfying you wouldn't believe it's low in calories. However, no specific calorie figures are given.

When the staff asked about storage, Ryuji answered that it can be frozen. Since it's too much to eat in one sitting, you can pack it into food containers, freeze it as is, and thaw it to eat. If it looks too spicy for you, just use less doubanjiang.

As they kept eating, both the staff and Ryuji started sweating. Ryuji took this as proof that their metabolism was being boosted, and rated it a nearly perfect weight-loss meal personally. Ryuji has made many dishes in the numa series so far, but says this personal version is the favorite.

Ryuji acknowledges that some people don't like punchy flavors in diet food. Even so, in Ryuji's view, diet food that leaves you feeling satisfied is far better as diet food. That's because, in many cases, if you don't feel satisfied, you end up eating something else anyway.

Ryuji says, presenting it as a personal view, that replacing one meal a day with this will definitely produce results. Ryuji closed by noting that, with the weather getting warmer, this is the time of year when more people want to lose weight, so everyone should be sure to make this "Hell Numa."