Japanese Kinoko Gohan Mushroom Rice and Mixed Taki-Komi Gohan

Ingredients

• 360 g Japanese short-grain rice, washed and drained
• 540 ml dashi, ichiban dashi preferred; reduced by 10% from the plain-rice ratio to account for moisture released by mushrooms
• 30 ml soy sauce
• 30 ml sake
• 15 ml mirin
• For the mushrooms
• 200 g mixed mushrooms, maitake, shimeji, and enoki — torn or separated into small clusters
• 15 g unsalted butter or sesame oil, for sautéing

Method

1. 1
   Wash the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs nearly clear. Drain and set aside. Clean and separate the mushrooms into small clusters or strips suitable for eating with rice. Combine the dashi, soy sauce, sake, and mirin in a bowl or jug; stir briefly to incorporate.
2. 2
   Heat the butter or sesame oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and sauté without crowding until they have released and then reabsorbed their liquid and their edges have darkened to a deep golden brown. Under-sautéed mushrooms added directly to raw rice release too much water during cooking and unbalance the liquid ratio. The mushrooms are ready when the pan is dry and a deep, savoury fragrance rises.
3. 3
   Place the drained rice in a heavy-lidded pot or donabe clay pot. Pour the seasoned dashi over the rice. Lay the sautéed mushrooms on top of the rice in an even layer — do not stir. This is where the dish lives or dies: the ingredients must rest on top of the raw rice and must not be mixed in before cooking; stirring at this stage breaks the surface starch of the grains and produces a gluey, incoherent result. Place the lid on the pot.
4. 4
   Bring the pot to the boil over medium-high heat. Once steam begins to escape steadily from the lid — audible as a low, continuous hiss — reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook for 12 minutes. Do not lift the lid at any point during cooking; the trapped steam is the principal cooking medium for the upper grains.
5. 5
   Remove from the heat. Allow the pot to rest, still sealed, for 10 minutes. This rest period completes the moisture equilibration between the steam environment and the grain interior; it is not optional. The pot will have fallen silent.
6. 6
   Remove the lid — the steam release and the rising mushroom-and-dashi fragrance mark the moment of service. Using a rice paddle, fold the contents from the bottom upward in a cutting motion, distributing the mushrooms through the rice without mashing the grains. Each grain should be distinct, lightly glossy, and carry the colour and scent of the dashi and soy. Serve immediately from the pot.