Photo by Gordon Walker
Provenance of Dish
"Gohan" in Japanese translates to rice as a meal (or cooked rice). This Matsutake (Tricholoma) Gohan is a savory satisfying steamed one pot meal. In essence this is well seasoned rice with steamed toppings, it's simple, easy, and utterly delicious. Cooking Matsutake with rice allows you to fully enjoy the enticing aroma of this mystic mushroom. Matsutake have a fleeting aroma that is better suited to liquid cooking applications (vs. frying in butter), so this rice dish is the perfect way to highlight it's unique seafood and spice notes.
Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients:
2 Cups of Short Grain Sushi Rice (Calrose or similar brand), washed and soaked (~1 hour)
~1/2 lbs of Fresh Matsutake buttons (sliced thin)
~1/2 lbs of Rock Cod or White Fish (salted and cut into chunks)
~15-20 Ginkgo Nuts (boiled, shelled, and peeled)
1/4 tube (~1 tbsp) of Umeboshi paste (or a few soaked/chopped umeboshi plums)
1 Tablespoon of Pickled Ginger (sliced)
2 Green Onions (diced)
For Cooking Liquid
1/4 cup of Matsutake Sake (Soak Sliced Matustake in Jumai Sake, store in fridge)
1/4 cup of Matsutake Mirin (Soak Matsutake in Mirin, store in fridge)
Several spoonfuls Sake Matsutake slices
2 Tablespoons of Dashi soup base
1/2 Tablespoon of Soy/Shoyu (Japanese, medium strength)
~2 Cups of water (or just below second knuckle of index finger)
On the Side/Topping:
Rice Seasoning (seaweed/sesame)
Togarashi (Japanese chili flakes)
Green Onions (sliced)
Pickled Ginger (sliced)
Seasoned Nori Wraps (spicy!)
Instructions
This dish can be made in a pot, but a rice cooker is definitely the easiest way to make this dish.
Start by drain your soaked rice and put it in the cooking vessel, add the liquid components and jiggle/stir briefly to combine. Check the liquid level with your finger (should be just below second knuckle of index finger).
Then start dotting on your fish, Ginkgo nuts, umeboshi, green onions, sake matsutake slices, and pickled ginger (aim for even coverage). Lay your Matsutake slices across the top in an artful manner, then put into the ricer cooker and let it rip.
Cooking should take 25-30m, not a bad idea to let it rest 10-15m after the cooker turns off. Once it's had a chance to rest, dig into it with a rice paddle and fluff sections of rice with the toppings then put into a serving bowl. Taste it at this point to see how the seasoning turned out. If you want more impact, you can add some rice seasoning or togarashi (spicy Japanese seasame seaweed powder). I also like to add sliced green onions, pickled ginger, and some roasted Imperial Cat mushroom.
This dish is wonderfully savory and comforting, infused with the essence of Matsutake, but made substantial by the fish and nuts, lifted and complimented by the umeboshi, ginger, and green onion. I served this with seasoned nori wraped (spicy ones) and used those to grab a handful of rice and eat it like little nori tacos - definitely recommend this combo.
You can easily swap out different mushrooms, liquid/stock/broth components, as well as fish, vegetable, and accents. It's just a method, what you do with it, is up to you!
Cheers!
Dr. Gordon Walker (@FascinatedByFungi)
See the video (making of) this dish on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ntF7fZTAdbE
