Savory Mushroom Rice

Meet your new favorite mushroom recipe! Rice infused with earthy mushroom flavor tossed through with caramelized mushrooms, this Mushroom Rice is worthy of being a meal by itself. One for mushroom lovers! Brown the mushrooms well so the base of the pot turns brown, then deglaze it with broth so all that flavor ends up in the rice as well as staining it a lovely earthy brown color. 

Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp olive oil, separated
30g / 2 tbsp butter
750g / 1½ lb mushrooms, sliced 3-5 mm / ⅛ – ¼” thick (Note 1)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1½ cups long grain rice, uncooked (Note 2)
2¼ cups vegetable stock / broth (or chicken) (Note 3)
1½ – 2 cups green onions, sliced
Optional: More butter to stir through

Instructions:
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot over high heat. Add half the mushrooms, and cook for 5 minutes until golden. Season with salt and pepper then remove and set aside (we put these in at the end, mushrooms cooked in rice don’t stay as golden).
If the pot is dry, another ½ – 1 tbsp oil, and add butter. When melted, add onions and garlic.
Cook for 30 seconds, then add remaining mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned (they won’t caramelize as well as the first batch) and the base of the pot is brown.
Add rice and a splash of broth. Mix so the brown stuff on the bottom of the pot mixes into the liquid. (Video below helpful here)
Once the base of the pot is clean, add remaining liquid. Place lid on, bring to a simmer then turn down to medium low.
Cook for 15 minutes or until there is no residual liquid (tilt pot to check).
Remove from stove, remove lid, QUICKLY toss in reserved mushrooms and scallions, put lid back on. Leave for 10 minutes (do not skip this step!).
Fluff rice using a fork or wooden spoon. OPTIONAL: Stir through more butter. Serve!

Notes:
– Mushrooms – Use any type you want. I used normal button mushrooms, it’s even more mushroomy if you use Swiss Brown / Cremini mushrooms. Don’t slice them too thin otherwise they literally disintegrate!
Mushrooms do “suck up” oil but don’t be tempted to add more oil until the end if needed. When raw, mushrooms suck up the oil, but then as they cook, release water and the oil, so this helps them brown towards the end. But if you do find they are looking dry, add just 1 tsp towards the end of browning.
– Rice – Basmati and jasmine would also be great here, comes out nice and fluffy like long grain rice. I find that medium and short grain rice is a bit sticky for my taste when cooked pilaf style. Risotto rice, sushi rice and paella rice are not suitable. Please use uncooked rice.
BROWN RICE: Follow recipe but use 2½ cups liquid for tender, fluffy rice (or 2¾ cups for soft rice) and it will take around 45 minutes to cook on the stove (check at 35 minutes, then every 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed).
QUIONA: This will also work with quinoa but adjust the recipe as follows: rinse quinoa, use 3 cups of liquid (I would prob do 2 cups broth, 1 cup water), follow recipe but cook for 20 minutes.
– Liquid to rice ratio – The amount of liquid to rice ratio I use yields a tender just cooked rice that is fluffy (ie: Asian restaurant standard). If you like your rice on the soft side, use ½ cup extra liquid but note that the rice will be stickier rather than fluffy like what you see in the video and photos.
– SERVES: Makes around 7 cups of rice (packed) which will serve 8 as a side or 4 as a main. YES it’s a lot but it will keep well in the fridge for a few days and it freezes well too!

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