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 minutesmins
Cook: 1 hourhr
Total: 1 hourhr10 minutesmins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
2¼cupsuncooked Japanese short-grain white rice(2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain rice are 3 rice cooker cups (450 g, 15.9 oz) and yield 5¼ cups (990 g) of cooked rice, enough for 6 servings)
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.
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.
When the rice is cooked, mix it gently. Garnish with 6 sprigs mitsuba (Japanese parsley) on top and serve.
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.