Thread: Troy's Mushroom Risotto, using Japanese rice

I cooked mushroom risotto a couple of times for the Thai family and it went down pretty well. The problem is I only brought 1 bag of Italian arborio rice with me. No problem, I thought I'd try it with Japanese rice instead as see how well it goes down.

The pack I bought just says Japanese rice, but going by the grains, it looked okay and I couldn't find anything more suitable.



The Japanese rice, on the left, is smaller than the arborio rice I bought in Italy last month, but looks like it should be okay.

Here's the basic ingredients:


Any mix of fresh or dried mushrooms will do. A good quality olive oil, onion, a glass of white wine and a couple of cloves of garlic. I couldn't find any fresh parsley locally but I imagine it is easier to obtain elsewhere in Thailand. I used dried parsley that I bought over.

You'll also need some parmesan and a knob of butter.

Start by boiling up some vegetable stock. I prefer to make this weaker than normal, say half the amount you would usually use so that it doesn't overpower. I am not sure how this rice is going to absorb the liquid so I'm making 1.5 litres

While that is coming to the boil, chop up the mushrooms and onion and pour yourself a glass of white wine:

Cook the chopped mushrooms in olive oil until they release their liquid

and then set aside on a warm plate.

Now add some more oil and the onion. Once the onion has softened add the rice and cook for about 3-5 minutes stirring continuously to ensure the rice cooks evenly.

Add a glass of white wine and continue to stir. You should see the starch start to come out of the rice...

...to make a creamy sauce. Cook until all the wine evaporates and then add a few ladles of the hot stock.

Add more stock as the rice absorbs the liquid and continue to stir. Cook for the time it says on the packet, which in this case is 20 minutes. Apparently, the Italians like their rice al dente, but that didn't go too well with the wife so I ensure the rice is cooked, whatever type it is.

Once at the 3/4 time stage add the mushrooms

You can continue to add stock as it is absorbed at this stage. Cook until it is almost ready and then add the garlic

Add salt and pepper to taste and once cooked add the grated Parmesan cheese and butter, stick the lid on the pan for a couple of minutes and then stir before serving.



The verdict, according to the family, was that this was just as good with Japanese rice as it was with Italian. I thought the rice was going to end up a slushy mess when I started to add the stock, so added less more often than I would for Italian. It was also difficult to judge how much rice to use, the bag slipped and I put in quite a bit more than I wanted but it just meant more liquid...

Could smell that cooking just by looking at the pics. Yummy.

Looks good, a dish I've never tried to make, cheers.

Well done!!

Thanks cabbage al dente sent warmed plate nice touch.

Which did you prefer the Italian or Japanese rice?

Originally Posted by misskit

Could smell that cooking just by looking at the pics. Yummy.

Yep.

Well done.
Troy's the one!!

Originally Posted by david44

Which did you prefer the Italian or Japanese rice?

Personally I prefer the Italian rice, as more starch was released making it creamier, but the Japanese rice was a better substitute than I expected. Arborio is also easier to cook al dente than the smaller grain rice, although that's not a problem for the family.

Well done Troy!

I this where we point out that the variety of rice grown in Italy is descended from Japonica and the variety of rice grown in Japan is ... well... Japonica.
Depends where in Italy the rice come from.