A bowl of rice topped with slices of mushroom and garnished with a sprig of green parsley, with another similar bowl and autumn decorations visible in the background.

The most popular and well-known matsutake mushroom recipe in Japan is probably matsutake gohan (松茸ご飯), or seasoned mixed rice with wild pine mushrooms. Matsutake have a flavor and essence often compared to French truffles.

During my research, I became curious about the differences between truffles and mushrooms. It turns out that truffles and mushrooms are both fungi, but mushrooms grow above ground and truffles grow underground. Isn’t it interesting?

Two bowls of rice topped with sliced mushrooms and garnished with green herbs are served on a wooden tray, surrounded by autumn leaves and small pumpkins. Chopsticks rest nearby, creating a cozy fall atmosphere.

What are Matsutake?

Matsutake (matsu = pine + take = mushrooms) is a Japanese delicacy highly prized for its distinct aromatic scent and depth of flavor. Wild Japanese matsutake mushrooms are hard to find in Japan, and the prices reflect this. The high-quality ones can cost up to $1,000 per pound and the exotic ones run $2,000.

In North America, wild matsutake are found in the Pacific Northwest of the US. Luckily, we can find US-grown matsutake in the local Japanese supermarket for about $40 per pound. Living up to its reputation, the aroma and flavor this mushroom offers is simply amazing.

Matsutake Mushrooms

Ingredients for Matsutake Gohan

Pine mushroom rice is a type of takikomi gohan (seasoned mixed rice) made with common Japanese condiments:

  • matsutake
  • Japanese short-grain rice
  • dashi (Japanese soup stock) — you can use Awase Dashi made with bonito flakes and kombu, Vegan Dashi made with shiitake mushrooms, or a dashi packet or dashi powder
  • soy sauce
  • sake
  • mirin
  • mitsuba — for garnish

How to Make Matsutake Gohan

This delicious rice dish is actually quite simple to make in a rice cooker. If you don’t have one, you can use a pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.

  1. Wash and drain the rice in a sieve. For more detailed instructions on rinsing and washing Japanese short grain rice, see my post on How to Make Japanese Rice.
  2. Prepare the matsutake. Trim the ends and clean off the dirt with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel. When you clean matsutake, do not wash them so you preserve the flavor of the mushrooms. Slice lengthwise.
  3. Layer the ingredients in the inner pot of a rice cooker. Add the well-drained rice, followed by the dashi broth and seasonings. Scatter the sliced matsutake on top; do not mix. Let the rice soak in the liquid for 15–30 minutes.
  4. Cook the rice. Mix gently and serve with chopped mitsuba for garnish.
A bowl of rice topped with sliced mushrooms sits on a red mat, with another bowl and a pair of chopsticks in the background. The setting has a warm, rustic atmosphere.

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A white bowl filled with seasoned rice and sliced mushrooms, garnished with a green leaf. The bowl sits on a tray decorated with artificial autumn leaves.
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4.79 from 42 votes

Matsutake Gohan (Wild Pine Mushroom Rice)

by Namiko Hirasawa Chen
Matsutake Gohan is an aromatic Japanese seasoned rice cooked with dashi stock and matsutake mushroom, also known as Wild Pine Mushroom. It‘s a delicacy that‘s highly prized by the Japanese for its distinct aroma and flavor.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients 
 

For the Seasonings

For Garnish

Instructions

  • Rinse 2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice under running water several times until the water is almost translucent and drain well. Trim off the bottom of the stems of 7 oz matsutake mushrooms. Thoroughly clean the mushroom with a damp towel or paper towel. Do not wash the mushroom. Slice lengthwise into ⅛-inch (3-mm) slices.
    A celeriac being wiped clean with a paper towel on the left, and thinly sliced pieces of celeriac on a white cutting board on the right.
  • In the inner pot of a rice cooker, put the well-drained rice, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp mirin, and 1 Tbsp sake. Add the dashi to the 3-cup water line of the inner pot; you don‘t need to use all 2½ cups dashi (Japanese soup stock). Add the matsutake mushroom on top of the rice (do not mix!) and start cooking. Rice cookers these days include 10 minutes of soaking time; however, I recommend soaking the rice for 15–30 minutes before cooking. Tip: Rice cooks evenly when it‘s not mixed with other ingredients. If you don‘t have a rice cooker, you can cook rice with a pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
    A three-panel image: pouring liquid into rice, adding more liquid, and then sliced mushrooms on top of the rice in a rice cooker. Measurement markings are visible inside the cooker.

To Serve

  • When the rice is cooked, mix it gently. Garnish with 6 sprigs mitsuba (Japanese parsley) on top and serve.
    A white bowl filled with seasoned rice and sliced mushrooms, garnished with a green leaf. The bowl sits on a tray decorated with artificial autumn leaves.

To Store

  • You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the freezer for a month. I recommend freezing the rice over refrigerating as the rice gets dry and hard in the fridge. Read more about How to Store Cooked Rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 485mg, Potassium: 140mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 1IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 3mg, Iron: 2mg

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