Autumn Mushroom Rice (きのこの炊き込みご飯, Kinoko Takikomi Gohan)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker, or a heavy pot with a tight lid
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Shamoji (flat rice paddle), or a broad wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 2 cups cold water and warm it slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the sides, because boiling kelp makes the stock faintly bitter and slick. Add the katsuobushi, take the pot off the heat, and let the flakes sink for two or three minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine sieve and let it drip without squeezing, so the clear flavor stays clean.

2. 2

   Wash the rice

   Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cool water, and stir with your hand. Pour off the cloudy water and repeat until the water is only faintly cloudy, usually four or five rinses. This washes away loose starch from the surface, so the finished grains separate instead of clinging into a heavy mass. Drain the rice in a sieve for 15 minutes.

3. 3

   Prepare the mushrooms

   Trim the shimeji and separate them with your fingers. Tear the maitake into uneven bite-size pieces, and slice the shiitake caps thinly. Tearing gives the mushrooms rough edges that hold seasoning, while slicing shiitake keeps its firmer bite from dominating the bowl. Keep the pieces modest; this is rice with mushrooms, not mushrooms hiding the rice.

4. 4

   Season the liquid

   Measure the drained dashi, then add soy sauce, usukuchi, sake, mirin, and salt. You need about 360ml seasoned liquid for 2 rice-cooker cups of rice, including the seasonings. Taste it before it touches the rice. It should be slightly more seasoned than a soup, because the rice will soften it as it cooks.

5. 5

   Layer the pot

   Put the drained rice in a rice cooker or heavy pot and add the seasoned liquid. Scatter the ginger over the rice, then lay the mushrooms on top in an even layer. Don't stir them in. Rice cooks best when it sits evenly under the liquid, and the mushrooms will release moisture down into it as they soften.

6. 6

   Cook and rest

   Cook on the regular white-rice setting, or bring the pot to a boil, cover tightly, reduce to very low heat, and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. The rest is not politeness. It lets the remaining moisture settle back through the grains so the bottom and top finish together.

7. 7

   Fold and serve

   Open the lid and breathe in before you do anything useful. Then fold the rice gently from the bottom with a shamoji, a flat rice paddle, cutting through rather than mashing. Mix just enough to distribute the mushrooms. Serve in small bowls with mitsuba or scallion on top, leaving the rice mounded lightly and not packed down.

Chef Tips

• •Use mushrooms that smell fresh and woodland-like, never sour or damp. Sourcing first, always. If the mushrooms are tired, no amount of soy sauce will make the bowl honest.
• •A rice cooker is perfectly proper for takikomi gohan. The old iron pot is beautiful, but the principle is even heat, measured liquid, and a full rest after cooking.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake. Soak both in cold water overnight, then warm gently and remove the konbu before boiling. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen line, not a compromise.
• •Don't add extra mushrooms casually. They give off water as they cook, and too many will make the rice soft. Better fragrance comes from a mix of kinds, not a larger pile.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •The mushrooms can be trimmed a day ahead and refrigerated in a paper towel-lined container.
• •Cooked mushroom rice keeps two days refrigerated. Reheat gently with a damp cloth or loose cover so the grains soften without becoming wet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)