Korean Four Mushroom Rice in Stone Pot (버섯밥 Beoseot Bap)

I am back in sunny California!!!  I am happy to report that I am finally fully moved to California. With my kitchen all organized (hmm.. well almost) and the fridge and pantry stocked, I am now ready for some serious food blogging.. :)) Thank you all for your patience during my relocation.

I first had this Mushroom Rice (버섯밥  Beoseot Bap) at my sister’s house while I was in Korea and was surprised how good it was. I have never had this lovely mushroom rice before and I wondered why. I think it’s because the dish was part of Korean Temple food and people rarely made Temple food at home way back then.  As you may know Korean Temple Food has recently gained large popularity both in and outside of Korea and so many new temple food recipes that were only made and eaten by monks in the past are now becoming part of everyday Korean food.

The Beoseot Bap was actually made by my nephew who was learning to cook as he was getting ready to leave for grad school in the US. My nephew LOVES meat but this was one dish without meat that he liked well enough to want to cook away from home. It is purely vegetarian and yet it is such a great “comfort” food. It is comforting not because it reminds you of your home or your mom’s cooking but because it really makes you feel warm and happy inside. It’s also good knowing that you have done your body some good. 🙂

Much like mountain greens (산나물 Sannamul), mushrooms (Beoseot 버섯) can be found in great abundance in Korean cuisine. Korean mountains were full of wonderful mushrooms in the old days but now, sadly they can only be found in deep mountains due to pollution. Koreans still love to pick mushrooms from the wild – although every now and then you hear in the news about people getting sick from eating poisonous mushrooms. Yikes!!

Anyway, this amazingly comforting and delicious Korean hot stone pot mushroom rice is a must try if you are a mushroom lover. This recipe is adapted from my sister #3’s. Thank you sis for sharing it with me!

Servings: 2        Cooking Time: 35 – 40 min    Prep Time: 1 hr        Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup short grain white rice
• 1/2 Cup sweet white rice
• 1/4 Cup brown rice
• 1 1/2 C cut mushrooms, mixed
  • 3~4oz (1/2 a 7oz bag) enoki mushrooms
  • 4 dry or fresh shitake or brown mushrooms
  • 3~4oz fresh oyster mushrooms
  • 2 king oyster mushrooms
• 1 tsp perilla seed oil (들기름 deul gireum)
• 1 tsp canola or other vegetable oil (neutral flavored)
• For yangnyeom jang (양념장) sauce:
  • 1/4 C chopped green onions (or garlic or wild chives)
  • 1 T soy sauce (진간장 jinkanjang)
  • 1 T water
  • 1 t perilla seed oil
  • 1/2 t sesame seeds

Prep Ahead:

1. Wash and soak all 3 kinds of rice in water for 30 min to 1 hr.
2. If using dried mushrooms, soak them in room temp. water for 30 min. DO NOT discard the water!! You will be using this mushroom water as stock later.

Let’s get cooking:

1. If you are using FRESH mushrooms ONLY,   you need to make mushroom stock. If you have dried shitake mushrooms, then you can just use the water from soaking the mushrooms. Bring to boil – 3 C water with 1 piece of dried kelp (다시마 dashima), mushroom stems and 2 mushrooms,  sliced. Once it boils, simmer for 15 min.
   

   Mushroom stock for Korean Mushroom Rice (버섯밥 Beoseot bap) – BEFORE

   After 15 min –

   

   Mushroom stock for Korean Mushroom Rice (버섯밥 Beoseot bap) – AFTER

2. Clean and cut mushrooms like below. Because mushrooms shrink when cooked, slice them thick and a bit bigger than bite size.
   

   Mushrooms for Korean Mushroom Rice (Oyster, Enoki, King, Brown Mushrooms)

   

   Enoki, Oyster, King Oyster, Brown mushrooms cut for Korean mushroom rice in Stone Pot

   Note – it is best to rip oyster mushrooms by hand because they are so delicate.

3. Drain rice. Get a hot stone pot or cast iron pot or any thick bottom pot that works well for paella or risotto. I used a cast iron rice pot here.
4. Add 1 t perilla seed oil + 1 t vegetable oil to a hot pot on medium high heat. Then add the soaked rice. Stir for 3 min or so until rice starts to become translucent and/or the rice starts to really stick to the bottom :(. Be careful not to burn the rice.
   

   Sauteeing Rice in Oil for Mushroom Rice

5. Lower heat to medium and add 2 Cups of mushroom stock/water or more until rice is just covered in liquid like below.
   

   Stock added to Korean Mushroom Rice

6. Add cut mushrooms (except Enoki) on top of the rice. Cover and cook on medium heat for 5 min.
   

   Mushrooms added to pot

7. Lower heat to medium-low and cook covered for 15 min.
8. While the rice is being cooked, make yangnyeomjang. Chop green onions and coat the green onions with 1 tsp perilla seed oil. This way, the green onions stay fresher in the sauce.
   

   Chopped green onions in perilla seed oil

   The original recipe uses Korean Wild Chives (달래 Dalae) but since they are only available mostly in Korea in the spring, I used green onions for the recipe. You can also use garlic chives (부추 buchu) and it should be also really good.

9. Complete the sauce by mixing 1 T soy sauce, 1 T water, 1 tsp sesame seeds with the green onions. Set aside.
10. Lower heat of the rice pot again to low and cook 10 min more or so until no or very little steam come from the pot.
11. Turn off heat and let it sit covered for 3 min more.
12. Now add the Enoki Mushrooms on top of the hot Beoseot Bap (Korean Mushroom Rice in Pot). Here is how the yummy Beoseot Bap looks in the pot.
    

    Korean Mushroom Rice Cooked in Pot

    It is ready to be served! Mix rice with mushrooms and serve in a bowl with sauce on the side.

    

    Korean Mushroom Rice (버섯밥 Beoseot Bap)

    Serving Suggestions:

• Serve with some fresh Lettuce Salad (상추 겉절이 Sangchoo Geotjeori) and Soy Maple Glazed Anchovies (멸치볶음 Myeolchi Bokkeum). Also pairs well with less spicy, fresh tasting Kimchi like Green Cabbage Kimchi.

Couple things..

1. While the rice is cooking, keep smelling the pot to avoid the rice from burning. Adjust fire if you think it’s burning. Try NOT to open the pot while it is cooking. Korean short grain rice are different from long grain rice and don’t do well when you open the pot while it’s cooking.
2. You may think the yangnyeom jang sauce is pretty bland for Korean standards but this is how Korean Temple food is. It really tries to bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients which are mushrooms in this case. So do not make the sauce too strong/spicy because it will overpower the mushroom flavor.
3. You can use regular sesame oil instead of perilla seed oil. It will be less aromatic but perilla seed oil has a flavor that not everyone likes and is also not easy to get in most countries so sesame oil should work fine.
4. You are welcome to use other kinds of mushrooms, but try to use a variety of flavors and textures.
5. An electric rice cooker can make your life much easier but you will probably not get the same wonderful flavor.