Recipe: Mushrooms with Steamed Rice (Korea)

Mushrooms with Steamed Rice

Posotbap
Serves 4 to 6
10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook

This recipe is one way to bring out the most from mushrooms and rice. The mushrooms are first sautéed in garlic and added to steaming rice. The two are then steamed together, lightly mingling into a subtle and succulent mushroom-infused rice dish. This is a quick, easy, and delicious one-dish meal; it makes a nice side dish, too.

2 cups short-grain rice
8 ounces fresh p'yogo (shiitake) mushrooms
or other mushrooms, finely diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 cups hot water

Soak the rice in lukewarm water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wrap the mushrooms in a clean, dry kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and soy sauce and sauté for 6 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Add the sesame oil, mix well, and set aside.

Drain the rice. Add the rice and hot water to a heavy 3-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately decrease the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, occasionally stirring and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Evenly spread the mushrooms on top of the rice. Cover, decrease the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes more. Decrease the heat to very low and let rest for 15 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a wooden spoon. Serve hot in individual bowls with Vinegar Soy Sauce on the side.

Buy the Book!

Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen
A Cookbook
By Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall
Ten Speed Press, September 2001
Hardcover, $ 29.95
ISBN: 1-58008-281-5
Recipe reprinted by permission.