Mushroom Lover’s Brown Butter Crispy Pot Rice
This post is sponsored by Staub
Call me selfish but, I want the whole pot of rice for myself.
I meeeeeaaaannn, I didn’t make a quadruple mushroom brown butter steak rice bowl to share.
In this recipe you will find:
3 different kinds of mushrooms cooked with caramelized onions
Rice seasoned with soy & dashi
Juicy ribeye steak cubes
Bright yellow Takuan or Danmuji (you can find my recipe for it here!!)
Whipped porcini powder browned butter
This single serve pot rice is inspired by a combination of concepts:
Claypot Rice: Chinese rice dish cooked in a claypot
Takikomi Gohan: Japanese seasoned mixed rice (cooked in a donabe or rice cooker)
In my last rice recipe, I received a lot of comments asking about the type of cookware I used (a Donabe).
I had to disappoint a LOT of you by clarifying that a traditional claypot or donabe or dolsot, should only ever be used on a gas cooktop in order to prevent it from cracking. And I realized that not everyone has a gas cooktop. Boo.
But I have a solution: the Staub 1.25QT Cocotte
This pot can be used on any cooktop without the worry of it cracking! Yay!
It has a rain drop lid, which disperses the steam & water droplets, providing super fluffy, perfect rice
The dark enamel coating provides even heat. Which also helps with achieving the same irresistible crispy bottom you would get with a claypot
The 1.25QT is the perfect size for 1-2 people
So all you induction, coil and glass stovetop havers, you can be a selfish single serving rice pot maker too. Haha!
Let’s get cooking!
Recipe:
Makes 1-2 servings (3 cups rice)
Mushroom Rice:
250g short grain white rice
1 tbsp oil
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
pinch sugar
75g white beech mushrooms (shimeji)
75g hen of the woods mushrooms (maitake)
50g oyster mushrooms (or yellow oyster)
400ml water
1 tsp instant dashi powder (Hondashi)
1 tbsp soy sauce
Add your rice to a colander or strainer. Rinse the rice under water to wash away the excess starches. Rinse until the water runs mostly clear. Set it aside.
Place your 1.25 QT Staub Cocotte on the stovetop. Add 1 tbsp of neutral oil, turn the heat to medium.
Thinly slice your white onion into rings and add them to your pot. Cook the onions on low heat until they turn a dark amber colour. Add a pinch of sugar. Stir them every so often, adding a splash of water when necessary if they start to stick to the bottom of the pot. This caramelization process can take up to 15-20 minutes. Just take it slow!
Prepare your mushrooms by trimming off the mycelium at the bottom, and brushing off any dirt or debris. Divide the mushrooms into smaller pieces and add them to your Cocotte with the caramelized onions.
Turn the heat to high. Sauté the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes, adding a pinch or two of salt. Cook until they are soft and they start to get a little crispy.
Remove 1/2 of the mushrooms from the pot and set them aside for later. (See note below)
Note: For more depth of flavour, I recommend torching these reserved sautéed mushrooms just before plating, or you can throw them in your toaster oven to crispen them up!
Add your washed and drained rice to the pot, along with the water, instant dashi powder and soy sauce.
Stir to combine everything and dissolve the dashi granules and bring the water to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and place your lid over the rice.
Cook the rice covered for 16-18 minutes. (Tip: While the rice cooks you can prepare the steak and/or butter!)
Once the rice is done cooking, leave it t0 rest, covered off the heat for an additional 10 minutes.
Porcini Browned Butter:
1/3 cup unsalted butter
3-5 g dried porcini mushrooms
pinch flaky sea salt
1 cup ice cubes
Add the dried porcini mushrooms to a clean coffee grinder. Pulse until it forms a powder. Set aside.
To a pan, add the unsalted butter. Turn the heat to medium and melt the butter.
Stir the butter constantly. When it starts to foam keep an eye on it. Toast the butter until it turns golden, being careful not to burn it. Once it reaches the desired colour, quickly remove it from the heat, and turn off the burner.
Add ice to a large bowl. Place another metal bowl on top of the ice.
Pour the melted browned butter into the metal bowl. Add 1.5 tsp of the porcini powder and flaky salt to the butter. Start whisking the butter to cool it down. It will slowly begin to turn pale and thicken up.
Once it becomes creamy and holds its shape, remove the metal bowl from atop the ice. Set the butter aside.
Steak:
300g ribeye or striploin steak
salt
porcini powder
black pepper
oil for cooking
20 minutes before cooking, remove your steak from the fridge. Place it on a plate or metal baking tray and let it come to room temperature. Blot the steak dry with a paper towel.
When you are ready to cook, season the steak on both sides with a generous amount of salt, some porcini powder and a few cracks of black pepper.
Turn on your exhaust fan. Add 2 tbsp of oil to a stainless steel pan or a skillet. Let it get really hot, or until it starts to smoke.
Place the steak in the pan. Press down on it, either with the backside of your baking sheet, a spatula or your hand. This helps to provide the steak with complete contact to the pan, in order to develop a nice crust.
Cook the steak for 1-2 minutes on each side, depending how thick it is.
Note: Keep in mind, the steak will get “cooked” an additional time after adding it to the rice pot. This is due to residual heat. So undercooking the steak a little bit is preferred.
When the steak is done to your liking, set it on a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes.
After resting, slice the steak into 3/4” cubes.
To Plate:
1 tsp neutral oil or sesame oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
sautéd mixed mushrooms
steak cubes
porcini browned butter
1 tsp sesame seeds
To get a crispy rice bottom, right before before serving, place the Cocotte over medium low heat. If the rice cooled down, cook covered for about 3-5 minutes to reheat. Uncover and add a drizzle of neutral oil or sesame oil over the top of the rice. Cook for another 5 minutes more or until you start to hear it begin to crack and sizzle.
Also, for more depth of flavour, I recommend torching the sautéed mushrooms from earlier, or you can throw them in your toaster oven to crispen them up!
Place your Cocotte rice on a trivet
Top with thinly sliced green onions
Place your torched (or toasted) reserved sautéed mushrooms on top
Add the steak cubes
Add the pickled radish
Top with a large tablespoon of porcini browned butter
Sprinkle with sesame seeds
This is best enjoyed right away after being thoroughly mixed. Enjoy!
