2 1⁄2 pounds assorted Japanese mushrooms, such as stemmed shiitake caps, maitake, and trimmed enoki
1 cup dry sake or dry white wine, such as pinot gris
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably a Japanese bottling
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Asian red chili paste, such as sambal oelek
3 tablespoons peanut oil, sesame oil, or extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium shallots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme, optional
1 bay leaf
2 cups cooked long- or medium-grain brown rice
Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel and cut them into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
Whisk the wine, broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, tomato paste, and chili paste in a small bowl and set aside.
Warm the oil in a large sauté pan or a deep skillet set over medium heat.
Add the shallots and garlic; cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and stir until all the oil has been absorbed.
Pour in the wine mixture; stir in the thyme and bay leaf.
Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, uncovered, until the liquid in the pan has reduced to half its original volume, 15 to 20 minutes.
Pile the rice on a large serving platter.
Spoon the mushroom stew on top, using the pan juices as a sauce.
– If you want to omit the sake or wine, increase the broth to 2 cups.
– A little dried thyme isn’t traditional, but it will offer a slightly herbaceous flavor among the sweeter notes in the stew.
– You can also serve this stew with “yellow rice” by adding up to 1 teaspoon ground dried turmeric to the rice’s cooking water.
The Blue Zones Kitchen fuses scientific reporting, National Geographic photography and 100 recipes that may help you live to 100. The Blue Zones’ food tradition is going the way of the dodo bird, thanks to the encroachment of the American Food Culture.
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