When I’m lucky enough to have these special ingredients at the same time, I love making this dish. The earthy perfumy aroma of matsutake mushroom is so elegant and there is nothing equivalent to it. The umami-packed and slightly chewy character of karasumi (cured mullet roe, a Japanese delicacy, and it’s also a famous Italian ingredient, called bottarga in Italian.) You can substitute matsutake mushroom with a different kind of mushroom such as shimeji (although the aroma is very different, it’s still tasty) when matsutake is out of season. For karasumi, instead of slicing it, you can grate it to mix in the rice, too.
The dish shown in this photo is made in 1 rice-cup size Kamado-san.
Equipment
Kamado-sanEquipment
Kamado-san (3 rice-cup size)Servings
4 - 5Ingredients
- 2 rice cups (360 ml) short grain rice, rinsed
- 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) kombu and bonito dashi or water
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 1 tablespoon white tamari (can be substituted with dark soy sauce)
- 2 – 3 oz (60 – 90 g) matsutake mushrooms (can substitute with shimeji or maitake mushrooms), bottom end trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 small to medium piece karasumi (bottarga; cured mullet roe, can substitute with powdered bottarga), thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Minced chives for garnish
Procedure
- Combine the rice, dashi, sake, and white tamari in Kamado-san. Let the rice soak for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Spread the matsutake mushrooms over the rice.
- Cover Kamado-san with both lids and cook over medium-high heat for 13 – 15 minutes, or until 2 – 3 minutes after the steam starts puffing out of the top lid.
- Turn off the heat and let Kamado-san rest (with both lids on) for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and spread the sliced bottarga over the rice. Add the butter and fluff gently until the butter is completely melted and well incorporated with the rice. Garnish with the minced chives and enjoy.
Tips
To clean the matsutake, use a damp piece of paper towel to gently wipe off any dirt off the surface.
