We’ve owned a number of claypots in the past, bought mostly in thrift stores, but I never cooked in them. I was too chicken to put them on the stove for fear that they would crack in the heat.
Then, my daughter, Alex, bought another (via Instagram). She couldn’t resist the design. A few days after the claypot was delivered, she cooked this dish.
The experience was immensely satisfying and the claypot salmon, mushrooms and rice was just so delicious that I found myself shopping for a larger claypots. I now own five claypots in different sizes so expect a lot of claypot dishes soon.
To cook this dish, start by preparing a flavorful liquid in which to cook the rice. Soak dried shiitake with pieces of kombu in hot water and leave to steep until the shiitake are fully rehydrated.
Heat your claypot, drizzle in oil and saute garlic. Add the rice and stir thoroughly to coat every grain with the delicious garlic-infused oil.
Pour in sukiyaki sauce and some of the shiitake soaking water and stir.
Partially cook the rice, covered, before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Pour in more of the mushroom soaking liquid, slice the rehyrated shiitake and pile on top of the rice followed by fresh shimeji. Season the mushrooms.
Take your salmon and spread over the mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt. Cover your claypot and continue cooking. By the time the rice has soaked up all the liquid, the salmon and mushrooms will be fully cooked.
Claypot salmon and mushroom rice
Equipment
- Claypot
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 shiitake mushrooms dried
- 4 to 6 one-inch piece kombu
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ cup Japanese rice unrinsed
- sukiyaki sauce (available in Asian groceries)
- 100 grams shimeji root ends cut off and discarded
- salt
- 300 grams salmon fillet cut into one-inch cubes
- sliced scallions to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, boil a cup and a half of water.
- Drop in the dried shiitake and kombu.
- Turn of the heat and leave to soak.
- Pour the cooking oil in your claypot and heat.
- Saute the garlic until aromatic.
- Stir in the rice and cook until every grain is coated with oil.
- Season with two tablespoons of sukiyaki sauce.
- Ladle in a cup of the mushroom soaking water.
- When boiling, cover the pot and cook for seven minutes.
- Meanwhile, take the rehydrated shiitake, cut off and discard the stems, and slice the caps thinly.
- Uncover the claypot, ladle in another quarter cup of mushroom soaking water, and scatter the shiitake slices and all of the shimeji on top of the rice.
- Sprinkle a little salt on the mushrooms.
- Top the mushrooms with the salmon cubes then sprinkle salt on the fish.
- Cover the claypot and continue cooking for another seven to eight minutes or until the rice and fish are cooked through.
- Sprinkle in the scallions, if using, then stir the contents of the claypot.
- Taste and add more sukiyaki sauce, if needed.
- Ladle the claypot salmon and mushroom rice into bowls, and serve immediately.
