Turkey Mushroom Rice

The picture above is a dish from Gazen, an izakaya in Honolulu. I don’t remember the specific name of the dish but it’s basically a chicken mushroom rice bowl, similar to fried rice.

This is one of those dishes that is served in a hot stone pot and mixed with a raw egg table side. Using this dish as inspiration, and whatever I had in the fridge, I came up with my own version of this izakaya dish.

This recipe is not so much made healthier (although it does use brown rice) as it is made cheaper. I love izakaya food but it can get pricey, especially if you love to eat and try lots of things like me!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 lb. lean ground turkey
3 or 4 shiitake mushrooms
1 egg
1/2 onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts (optional)
1 stalk green onion (optional)
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 or 4 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sesame oil

DIRECTIONS
Look around your fridge or freezer for some leftover brown rice. If you find it great! If not, start up a new batch. Next, get out your dried shiitake mushrooms and soak them in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes. Once the shiitake mushrooms are plump, take them out and slice into small pieces throwing out the hard stem.

Once you have your rice and mushrooms ready, start to brown the ground turkey in a large pan draining any excess liquid that accumulates. When the turkey is about half way cooked, add in the onions, ginger, and garlic. If you have bean sprouts and green onions around, toss those in after the onions get a couple minutes head start. Season with a little salt and pepper.

When everything looks more or less cooked, add in the cooked rice, shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and sugar. Next, make a well in the middle of the pan and add the scrambled raw egg.

Once you have scrambled egg in the middle, add in the sesame oil and mix everything together.

NOTES
Several times during the cooking process I let it go on medium high heat without stirring – although I do keep my eye one it. This is to mimic the effects of a hot stone pot. The onions become caramelized and the rice gets crispy. And if you’ve had any hot stone pot dishes before, you know the crispy rice on the bottom is the best!