Bell peppers stuffed with a savory miso-glazed rice and zucchini filling, baked until tender — a Japanese home-style twist on stuffed peppers.
Stuffed peppers aren't a classic Japanese dish, but the technique of stuffing hollowed vegetables with a seasoned rice filling has clear roots in Japanese home cooking, most visibly in piiman no nikuzume, meat-stuffed green peppers pan-fried or simmered in a soy-based sauce. This recipe borrows that logic and swaps in a plant-forward filling of rice, sautéed zucchini, and mushrooms bound with miso, then bakes the peppers instead of pan-frying for a hands-off version suited to a full dinner. The key technique is cooking the filling fully before it goes into the peppers — this is not a dish where raw rice cooks inside the pepper shell. Rice, vegetables, and aromatics are sautéed and seasoned on the stovetop first, so what goes into the oven is already flavorful; baking simply softens the peppers and lets the top brown slightly under the glaze. The result is tender, faintly sweet peppers holding a savory, umami-rich filling with a glossy miso glaze on top — comforting and substantial enough to serve as a main course rather than a side.
Serves 4
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 4 minutes until softened, then add garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms and cook 6-7 minutes until the vegetables release and reabsorb their moisture and start to brown lightly.
Stir in cooked rice, miso, soy sauce, and mirin, mixing until the rice is evenly coated and the miso is fully dissolved. Cook 2-3 minutes so the flavors meld, then remove from heat.
Cook the filling until it tastes fully seasoned on its own — the peppers won't absorb much additional flavor in the oven, so an underseasoned filling stays underseasoned.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Pack the filling firmly into each hollowed pepper, mounding slightly at the top, and stand them upright in a baking dish.
Add 1/4 cup water to the bottom of the dish to keep peppers from drying out. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes, then uncover and bake 10-15 more minutes until the peppers are tender and the tops are lightly browned.
Drizzle with sesame oil, scatter scallions and sesame seeds on top, and serve hot, straight from the baking dish.
Choose peppers that can stand upright on their own, or trim a thin sliver off the bottom (without cutting through) so they don't tip over in the dish.
Dice the zucchini and mushrooms small and uniform so the filling holds together and packs neatly into the pepper.
If the peppers are browning too fast before the filling heats through, tent them loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
Add ground chicken or pork to the filling for a heartier, protein-forward version.
Use a mix of red, yellow, and green peppers for visual variety and slightly different sweetness levels.
Top with a thin layer of shredded cheese in the last 5 minutes of baking for a fusion-style finish.
Refrigerate stuffed peppers in an airtight container up to 3 days. Reheat covered in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes, or microwave individually until heated through.
The technique of stuffing hollowed peppers with seasoned rice or meat and simmering or baking them shows up across many cuisines, but the Japanese version, piiman no nikuzume, developed as bell peppers became more widely available in Japan in the 20th century and were adapted into home-style dishes using familiar seasonings like miso, soy, and mirin.
Yes, just make sure it's fully cooked and slightly cooled before mixing into the filling, since brown rice takes longer to cook and won't finish in the oven time given here.
No — as long as you cover them with foil for the first part of baking, the peppers will steam and soften fully in the oven without needing to be blanched first.
Yes, freeze the stuffed, unbaked peppers tightly wrapped for up to 2 months, then bake from frozen at 375°F for about 55-60 minutes, covered for the first 40.
Per serving (350g / 12.3 oz) · 4 servings total
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