Keyword: best risotto recipe, cheesy mushroom risotto, creamy mushroom risotto, how to cook risotto, mushroom risotto
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 40 minutesminutes
Total Time: 50 minutesminutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 677kcal
Author: Phasinee Doddeo
Cost: $15
This is our favorite mushroom risotto which comes up mildly cheesy and mildly creamy with a touch of spiciness. Lots of people like the really creamy risotto styles but for the Thai palate they are a little too clingy in the mouth. And so we came up with this nicely balanced recipe with a little Thai twist which we hope you will enjoy.
8+cupsAsian Chicken StockHome made so much better than pre-made
¼cupMushroom Soy Sauce
½cupDry Cooking Sherryor Rice Wine Vinegar
1½cups (split) Parmesan Cheese1 cup for cooking and 1/2 cup for topping. Fresh Grated or any other strong hard cheese
½cupParsley SprigsRoughly Chopped for Garnish
Instructions
Peel the shallots and chop quite finely and set aside
Wash the mushrooms and slice top through stem to get 4-5 slices from each mushroom. Set aside.
Peel the garlic cloves and press through a garlic mincer or chop super fine. Chop the chili crossways into small rounds. Set aside.
Take a fairly large saucepan and heat up the chicken stock to a simmer. As soon as it reaches a simmer turn off and leave for use shortly.
While your stock is warming up, take a large, wide pan that is big enough to hold all the ingredients with space for the rice to expand - something wok sized is good.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and heat until it ripples on the surface.
Add the shallots, chopped chili and half of the garlic and cook until the shallots start to go a little translucent and you can smell the garlic.
Add the butter to the pan together with the mushrooms and lower the heat to medium. Cook the mushrooms, stirring frequently until they have cooked down by about 1/3rd.
While the mushrooms are cooking down, grab a medium skillet and add the remaining two tablespoons of oil. Heat until the oil flows freely and then add the remaining garlic and saute for about a minute.
Add the chicken pieces and the mushroom soy sauce and saute with the garlic turning frequently until barely cooked through (meat has turned from pink to white on every surface) and set aside for a moment.
Add the rice to the mushrooms and mix together so that the whole mixture is well combined and keeping it on the heat. This should take about 1 minute.
At this point your attention is needed without distraction because you need to add the chicken stock bit by bit and keep stirring. So add 1 cup of stock to the mushroom and rice mix and stir - heat should be at a medium setting so if left for a few seconds the mixture will produce small bubbles on top.
You will notice the chicken stock being absorbed by the rice mix as you stir, watch the consistency of the mixture near the bottom of your pan and as soon as you see the liquid has been absorbed, add another 3/4 cup of stock and stir it in. It's important to keep stirring to ensure the ingredients do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add in the rosemary sprigs and the chicken you just cooked.
Continue the process of adding stock 3/4 cup at a time, stirring, watching for liquid being absorbed until you notice the rice get plumper and the stock taking longer to be absorbed. At this point you will have used up most of the stock, or maybe all of it, and it is time to taste.
The process of adding in the stock bit by bit, stirring until absorbed and repeating is the secret to cooking risotto. And making sure not to overcook the rice.
When you taste, check for taste of course but notice the consistency of the rice. You want to notice a slight bite to the rice much like properly cooked pasta. Soft but with some resistance to your bite.
Stir in most of the grated cheese leaving a few tablespoons to serve with the dish so that diners can add more to their taste. Combine thoroughly. You should add seasoning to your taste at this point. As the cheese itself is salty it is best to check for taste after it has been added and cooked down a little.
Serve with the reserved grated cheese to the side and add a few sprigs of parsley on top for garnish. A glass of red wine compliments this dish perfectly.
If the risotto is left it will begin to dry out. Just return to the pan to reheat adding a little more chicken stock and then serve.You can mix up your mushrooms.We add chili for a hint of spice but it's optional. It's a great recipe with or without it.