Category:
Meals

One Pot, Hot

Ingredients:

dried mushrooms
long beans
brown rice
salt
parsley or coriander leaves (for the garnish)

Soak a small handful of dried 'black' mushrooms (Lentinus edoides).* Gently squeeze them out when they are fully reconstituted, and reserve them and their soaking liquid.

Wash, trim and cut into small sections a big handful, say half a bunch, of long beans.*

Wash two cups of good long grain brown rice in several waters, and put to boil with two and a half cups of cold water. Use the soaking liquor from the mushrooms as part of this liquid. Bring to a boil over high heat and maintain a 'rolling' boil for three minutes or so, then turn the heat down to the minimum and cover the pot.

Allow to steam for fifteen minutes. The level of the water in the pot will be below that of the rice. Arrange the sliced fungus and the beans atop it. Do not stir! Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, cover, and allow to steam for thirty minutes more.

Remove from the heat, and leave the lid on the pot for ten minutes to rest before serving. This will allow the moisture in the rice to redistribute more evenly. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or coriander.

Good, fast, and cheap.

Notes:

*You will find these fungi both packaged and loose by weight in almost any Asian food store. The tops are often cracked and the price varies along with the size and general quality. The most expensive are often those that look the nicest, so don't be shy about buying in the middle range.
*You can find long beans (Vigna sesquipedalis) through most of the year in Asian groceries. They'll likely be sold in a bunch. Substitute green or snap beans if necessary.

Recipe Index

More Meals:

Polenta Bombe |  Black Bean Buns  | Cool Dumplings in Hot Sauce | Black Bean Pie |  Straight from the Pot | Homely Ravioli  | Lima Bean Stew  | Cabbage Rolls with Kasha and Lentils | Timbale of Lentils and Rice | Doublable Beans |