One-Pot Mushroom and Ginger Rice

Name: One-Pot Mushroom and Ginger Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups medium-grain white rice; 2 cups vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade; 10 ounces mushrooms, such as shiitake, cremini, button or blue oysters (or a mix), halved or quartered; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 6 to 7 teaspoons tamari soy sauce; 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (optional); 3 teaspoons sesame oil; Salt and white or black pepper; 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced; 2 scallions, thinly sliced; Toasted white sesame seeds (optional)

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Published March 13, 2024

One-Pot Mushroom and Ginger Rice — Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Total Time: 40 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(980)
Comments: Read comments

Inspired by Cantonese one-bowl rice dishes like bo zai fan and sticky rice, this mushroom and ginger rice has clean yet robust flavors. The Chinese cooking technique of velveting — dusting protein in cornstarch to keep it tender and silky during cooking — is usually reserved for meat or seafood but here, the same method is used for the mushrooms, allowing them to stay juicy and plump as they cook in the rice. Crisping the rice at the bottom of the pot is optional, but if you choose to do it, stay close, listen to the sound of the sizzle, smell the aroma; if you detect any burning scents, take it off the heat immediately. At first, the rice will seem stuck to the pot, but it will release more easily once it has cooled. A dish like this would traditionally be cooked in a clay pot, so use that if you have one, but if not, a cast-iron Dutch oven will do the job.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1½cups medium-grain white rice
2cups vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade
10ounces mushrooms, such as shiitake, cremini, button or blue oysters (or a mix), halved or quartered
2teaspoons cornstarch
6 to 7teaspoons tamari soy sauce
2teaspoons Shaoxing wine (optional)
3teaspoons sesame oil
Salt and white or black pepper
1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2scallions, thinly sliced
Toasted white sesame seeds (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Place the rice into a Dutch oven and rinse it 3 times until the water runs almost clear. Pour the stock over the rice and leave to soak for 10 minutes while you prepare the mushrooms.
Step 2
Place the mushrooms into a bowl and add the cornstarch and toss to coat. Add 4 teaspoons of soy sauce, the 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (if using), 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of white or black pepper; toss to coat.
Step 3
Place the pot with the rice over medium-high heat, add the ginger slices and bring to a boil. When bubbling, cover, reduce to low and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 4
Uncover, add the mushrooms and, using chopsticks or a large spoon, stir the mushrooms through the rice. Cover again and cook on low until the mushrooms are cooked and rice is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 5
Remove the lid, increase heat to medium-high and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until you can hear it sizzling aggressively, which indicates that the bottom of the rice is becoming crispy. (Skip this step if you don’t care for the crispy rice.)
Step 6
Turn off heat and drizzle with 2 to 3 teaspoons of soy sauce, the remaining 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and top with scallions and sesame seeds (if using).

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Ratings

4 out of 5

980 user ratings

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Comments

Beatrice1 year ago

I keep a lot of ginger frozen and no matter what the recipe calls for, grate it straight out of the freezer -- no peeling needed. Be sure to put unused parts right back into freezer as it gets mushy if you let it thaw. This solved that whole problem for me, and works like a charm.

TwirlyGirly1 year ago

I keep my ginger, unpeeled, covered with sherry in a jar in the fridge. It lasts indefinitely and doesn't get mushy like it does if kept in the freezer. When a recipe calls for slices of ginger, the slices will still have some of the crispness fresh ginger has. And don't tell anyone, but I rarely bother to peel ginger for recipes whether it's to be grated or sliced. Shhhh...

miche1 year ago

Prepared a mash-up of this + Genevieve Ko's Sticky Ginger Rice. Instead of velveting the mushrooms as directed here, I marinated them a bit per this recipe (minus the cornstarch), sauteed them for a few minutes, removed mushrooms and cooked the rice in the same pot. Re-added mushrooms towards the end of cooking. So delicious and comforting. Mushrooms marinated and sauteed in soy sauce, shaoxing wine, and sesame oil is going into my repertoire!

TD1 month ago

I had undercooked rice at the top and so I kept cooking after 12 minutes. Instead of getting dryer, the rice is mushy. Rice at the bottom is crispy under the mush but stuck so I couldn’t eat it. The recipe seems to need some modifications. Might try with less water and cook mushroom separately or use a rice cooker and throw everything in there all at once with regular ratio of water to rice.

Lisa1 month ago

Made this tonight. Needs more mushrooms, also liquid ratio seems off-some of the rice was undercooked. My Dutch oven didn’t produce any crispy rice. Also added more ginger than called for and served with a runny fried egg on top. I did like it, just wasn’t fabulous. I’d probably make again and try adding pan fried tofu, peas or frozen edamame, and cooking the rice in more liquid.

Phoebe2 months ago

The comments that say this can’t work are right. Mushrooms came out squidgy, rice came out both undercooked and burnt. I followed the exact recipe right to the end when I figured out how undercooked the rice was and then added some stock and cooked it longer. Would have been inedible otherwise!

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