This umami-rich Japanese Mushroom Rice is cooked in a savory dashi soy broth and topped with butter, chopped chives, and sea salt flakes. Use a mix of different Japanese mushrooms like shiitake, king oyster, and shimeji for flavor and texture.

There are so many ways to cook and enjoy Japanese rice beyond ordinary steamed rice to accompany your meal. When I plan to serve a light main dish, I usually go for mixed rice with fresh seasonal ingredients or pantry staples.
Today, let’s make Japanese Mushroom Rice (きのこご飯). Japanese mushrooms, such as shiitake, enoki, shimeji, and maitake, are getting more popular these days and I can get them at local grocery stores or farmers’ markets. Whether you’re a mushroom fan or not, I’d love you to give this recipe a try. This dish spotlights the beauty of all-mighty mushrooms—and I think you’re going to fall in love!
Table of Contents
- What is Japanese Mushroom Rice?
- Why You Should Make This Japanese Mushroom Rice
- My Favorite Rice Cooker – Hario GohanGama
- How to Make Japanese Mushroom Rice
- 5 Tips on Making Japanese Mushroom Rice
- Cooking in a Rice Cooker or a Stovetop Pot
- What to Serve with Japanese Mushroom Rice
- Other Delicious Rice Recipes

What is Japanese Mushroom Rice?
Japanese mushroom rice (known as kinoko gohan in Japanese) is another variation of takikomi gohan, which is a Japanese mixed rice dish that incorporates steamed rice with a mixture of vegetables, proteins, and seasonings.
In this kinoko gohan, a mixture of mushrooms is cooked with the rice so the entire rice dish is infused with an aromatic, earthy, umami flavor. Any mushroom lovers would enjoy this beautiful rustic recipe!
Why You Should Make This Japanese Mushroom Rice
- Light yet flavorful, umami-rich, and savory.
- So easy to make!
- Simple & accessible ingredients.
- Vegan-friendly by using Kombu Dashi (with the addition of dried shiitake mushrooms).
- Freezer-friendly. Leftovers? Save it for another meal!

My Favorite Rice Cooker – Hario GohanGama
In case you are new to my blog, I cook Japanese rice using various methods: rice cooker, stovetop pot, donabe (Japanese earthenware or clay pot), and Instant Pot. Each one has its perks and you can certainly make this Japanese mushroom rice recipe with your chosen vessel.
But today, I want to talk about my ABSOLUTE favorite way to cook rice and it has to be with Hario’s GohanGama. You might have seen me using this rice cooker in my Instagram stories many times.
Hario’s GohanGama is basically a heat-resistant Japanese clay pot that features a glass lid. This is a sponsored post, but it’s a product that I truly enjoy. The rice turns out fluffy, tender, and incredibly fragrant every time. I can’t recommend it enough to those who are looking for an alternative way to cook rice!

How to Make Japanese Mushroom Rice
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Japanese mushrooms – I used fresh shiitake, shimeji, and eringi (king oyster) mushrooms in this recipe; you can use enoki, maitake, or other kinds of mushrooms such as cremini. Consider both flavors and textures for the mix.
- Japanese short-grain rice – For best results, I recommend using Japanese short-grain rice, which is the same type of rice we use for making sushi. It has a sticky, fluffy texture that is different from the other types of rice. The closest substitute is Korean short-grain rice. Learn more: Japanese Rice: Everything You Need To Know
- Dashi (Japanese soup stock) – I used the combination of dashi with kombu and katsuobushi today, but if you’re vegetarian/vegan, you make this quick Kombu Dashi and add some dried shiitake mushrooms in it.
- Seasonings – Soy sauce, mirin, sake, and salt.
- Toppings – Butter, chives, and sea salt flakes.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Make dashi (Japanese soup stock), if you haven’t already. You can make it from scratch, use a dashi packet (my method today), or dashi powder. If you’re vegan/vegetarian, make kombu dashi and add a few dried shiitake mushrooms to the broth.
- Rinse rice and drain. I have the whole tutorial on the proper rice rinsing tutorial here.
- Cut mushrooms into bite-size pieces.
- Add rice, seasonings, and stocks. Then mix it all together before you put the mushrooms on top. Let the rice soak in the seasoning broth for 20 minutes.
- Cook the rice. Once it’s finished cooking, let it steam for 10-15 minutes before fluffing the rice.

5 Tips on Making Japanese Mushroom Rice
- Take note of the rice cooker cup – If you have never owned a rice cooker, you may not be aware that rice is measured with a rice cooker cup. 1 rice cooker cup is 180 ml, equivalent to 3/4 US cup. This measurement is standard for all brands of rice cookers. If your rice cooker comes with a clear rice cooker cup, it is a 180-ml cup.
- The ratio for Japanese short-grain rice to water is 1:1.1 or 1:1.2 – For 1 rice cooker cup (180 ml) of Japanese rice, you will need 200 ml of water.
- Quickly rinse mushrooms – There are a lot of discussions on whether you should be washing mushrooms or not, and this is because mushrooms can soak up moisture. If your mushrooms look relatively clean, you can gently brush them with a pastry brush or paper towel. If dirt is attached to mushrooms and hard to remove, you can quickly rinse them under cold running water and dry them with a clean tea towel or paper towel. Just DO NOT SOAK them.
- Do not mix rice and ingredients – This applies to all mixed rice recipes. You first need to mix the rice and broth (with seasonings), but other ingredients such as veggies and meat must go on top. This ensures the rice is cooked evenly. Only mix everything together once the rice is done cooking.
- Always soak Japanese short-grain rice – Japanese rice is plump (thicker) than other varieties and it needs a head start to absorb moisture to the core. Soaking for 20-30 minutes is standard.
Cooking in a Rice Cooker or a Stovetop Pot
You will cook the rice exact same way whether you cook this recipe in your electric rice cooker or stovetop pot.
This means that you prepare each ingredient as I explained and put everything in the same order in your cooking device. Make sure to soak the rice for 20-30 minutes.
If you’re cooking the rice in an electric rice cooker, click the start button (or “mixed rice” menu).
If you are cooking the rice in a pot over the stovetop:
- Cover the pot with the lid and bring it to a boil over medium heat. You can take a quick peek to see if the water is boiling (otherwise do not open the lid).
- Once the water is boiling, turn the heat to low and cook, covered, for 12 to 13 minutes, or until the water is completely absorbed (take a quick peek). If there is water left, close the lid and continue cooking for a little longer.
- Remove the pot (with the lid on) from the heat source and let it steam for another 10 minutes.

What to Serve with Japanese Mushroom Rice
I usually serve Japanese Mushroom Rice with a main dish that’s not too heavy, such as Miso Salmon, Shio Koji Chicken, or Soy-Glazed Eggplant.
This is a perfect side to serve with your vegetarian and vegan dishes.
Other Delicious Rice Recipes

- Japanese Corn Rice
- Takikomi Gohan (Japanese Mixed Rice)
- Mame Gohan (Green Pea Rice)
- Matsutake Gohan (Wild Pine Mushroom Rice)
- Takenoko Gohan (Bamboo Rice)

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Japanese Mushroom Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 7 oz assortment of Japanese mushrooms (for 4 servings, I used ½ package (50 g) of shimeji mushrooms, 2 small king oyster mushrooms (eringi), and 5 shiitake mushrooms)
- 2 rice cooker cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (360 ml, 1½ US cups, 300 g of uncooked rice yields roughly 4 servings (3½ US cups) of cooked rice)
For the Rice Seasoning
- 1¼ cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) (for vegan/vegetarian, make Vegan Dashi)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 2 Tbsp sake
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 knob ginger (you will need ½ tsp per 4 servings)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
For the Toppings
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
- 5 stalks chives (or scallions/green onion)
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. The Japanese short-grain rice-to-water ratio is 1 to 1.1 (or 1.2). I used my Hario GohanGama (donabe rice cooker) in this recipe, but you can use an electric rice cooker (same measurement, and start cooking as usual) or a pot with a heavy bottom (for better heat distribution).
To Wash the Rice
- Put the rice in a large bowl and add just enough cold tap water to submerge the grains. Discard the water immediately (so the rice doesn't absorb the cloudy water). Next, use your fingers to gently wash the wet grains in a circular motion for 15-20 seconds. Add water to rinse and immediately pour off the cloudy water. Repeat this "wash and rinse" process a couple more times until the water is clear. Drain the rice in a fine-mesh sieve and shake off the excess water. Set aside while you prepare the mushrooms.
To Prepare the Mushrooms
- Cut the king oyster mushrooms into 1½-inch (3.8 cm) lengths. Then, slice the lengths into thin slabs.
- Cut and discard the bottoms of the shimeji mushrooms and separate the individual mushrooms with your fingers.
- Discard the stems of the shiitake mushrooms and thinly slice the caps.
To Cook the Rice
- To your rice pot, add the well-drained rice, dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and salt.
- Peel and grate the ginger. You will need about ½ tsp per 4 servings.
- Add the ginger and minced garlic (I use this garlic press). Mix the rice and seasoning mixture well. Gently shake the pot and use your fingers to level the rice so that it's evenly distributed and submerged in the water.
- Gently place the mushrooms on the rice, arranging the brown shiitake caps and shimeji mushrooms on top so they look pretty when the rice is done cooking. DO NOT MIX. The rice will not cook evenly if mixed with the mushrooms. Cover with the lid and let the rice soak for 20-30 minutes (soaking is crucial for preparing Japanese short-grain rice).
- For the Hario GohanGama, cook on medium-high heat until it starts to whistle, roughly 10-11 minutes. For a regular donabe or heavy-bottomed pot, cook on medium-high heat for about 13-15 minutes. For an electric rice cooker, choose the Mixed Rice menu, if available; otherwise, start cooking.
- For the Hario GohanGama, once whistling, cook for another 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat. For a regular donabe or pot, as soon as the rice is done cooking, remove it from the heat. Let the rice steam for 20 minutes for the GohanGama and 10 minutes for the donabe, pot, and electric rice cooker. This resting period is crucial for the rice to steam properly. Resist the urge to peek under the lid and release the steam during this time.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the chives and transfer them to a small plate. Also, prepare small plates of the sea salt flakes and butter. When the rice is done steaming, add half the butter on top of the mushrooms and quickly close the lid to let it melt with the residual heat.
To Serve
- Sprinkle the chives and sea salt flakes on top, and add the other half of the butter (if desired). Gently mix the mushrooms into the rice using a slicing motion to avoid mashing the rice grains. Serve the mushroom rice in individual rice bowls and sprinkle more chives and sea salt on top, if desired.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 2 days and in the freezer for a month.
I made this last night using fresh enoki and shimeji, and dried shitake. I rehydrated the shitake overnight, used the soaking water to make a dashi (I added half a packet of dashi powder). I don’t know if I did anything wrong but the rice turned out bland/flavourless, I can only taste earthy notes from the mushrooms but no umami. Should I have used the whole dashi packet, more salt or shoyu? Or is it supposed to be very mild like this? I think next time I will sauteé the mushrooms first with some pork belly…
Btw, I used koshihikari rice from Niigata and Zojirushi with Mixed Rice setting
Hi Eti, Thank you for experimenting with Nami’s recipe.
This rice dish has an aromatic, earthy Umami flavor. However, depending on the mushrooms and Dashi used, the dish will be less or more flavorful.
In your case, I believe you used dry shiitake to make Dashi and for the item specified in the recipe. As a result, the Dashi had a good umami taste but not enough flavor in the rehydrated shiitake. If you wish to make it with your mushroom mixture again, we recommend adding more mushrooms to the dish or Kombu to the Dashi.
We hope you find this information useful!
Just made it for dinner. It was yummy 🙂
Made it with fresh shiitake mushrooms and I added a little bit of dry shiitake dashi to the regular dashi.
Awesome autumn vibes!
Hi there, Ildi! Awesome!
Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback.🤗
Is it possible to make this with dried mushrooms? If so, what modifications to the recipe should I make?
Hello, Lenore! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
We recommend hydrating the dried mushrooms with water first, then use the soaking water for cooking.
We hope this was helpful!
Made this tonight in my rice cooker and it is delicious!!
Hi Alina,! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Japanese Mushroom Rice! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🤗
I got a bargain on shiitake mushrooms yesterday, so I only used shiitake in the recipe. The dish came out well even though I failed to use the mixed rice setting on my rice cooker. The regular setting worked fine, and the rice was delicious. Thanks so much!
Hi SG T! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish with a lot of Shiitake mushrooms!
Just a quick note, if you decide to go with the mixed rice option next time, you may notice some burnt rice at the bottom of the pot. However, this is what gives the dish its unique and delicious flavor. We highly encourage you to give it a try!
Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback.
Happy Cooking!
I made this tonight with a mixture of shiitake and oyster mushrooms using the stovetop pot method, and it turned out beautifully! Thank you for the excellent instructions. 🙂
Hi Courteney! Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Mushroom Rice. Happy Cooking!
Hello! I added in the dashi mirin sake soy sauce et al but I notice combining tog it doesn’t add up to 1.2 cups – and as a result my rice feels dry. Am I missing something? Thank you!
Hello, Claire. Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipe.
The rice-to-liquid ratio is 1:1.1 to 1.2, and it is not a cup measurement, so for 360 ml of rice, you will need a total of 400 ml of liquid, including the moisture released from the mushrooms during the cooking time. Mushrooms contain approximately 90% moisture. We recommend double-checking the mushroom weight and using what you need. If not, please increase the Dashi amount.🙂 We hope this help!
Thank you I will try! Btw if I use an instant pot to cook, what is the rice to liquid (mirin soy sauce dashi etc) ratio? I assume I need to change the amount of each to become 1:1? Thank you!
Hello, Claire! Yes. The ratio for the instant pot should be 1:1.
The simplest method is to put all of the liquid condiments in the cup first, then fill the rest with Dashi to achieve the 1:1 ratio.
We hope this was helpful!
easy, comforting, and yummy. as a vegetarian american college student living in japan, i appreciate y’all so much!
Hi, anisa! We are glad to hear you enjoyed Nami’s recipe! Thank you so much for your kind words.
Do I need to adjust the quantity of liquids if I’m using Nishiki rice (I know it’s not the best but it was the only kind left in the store haha) instead of regular short grain rice? The package says the ratio to water should be 1:1.3… Love this recipe btw! made it a few times already with short grain rice and the results were perfect
Hi Lail, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are glad to hear you love this dish.
Nishiki rice is medium-grain rice, and 1:1.3 may result in a better texture. You can increase the amount of Dashi in this recipe by 4 tablespoons.
We hope this helps!
My zojirushi rice cooker broke 🙁 Any recommendations for how long to cook this in an instant pot?
Hi Victoria! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
In an instant pot, cook this at high pressure for 2 minutes! 🤗
For more information, see this similar recipe:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/instant-pot-takikomi-gohan/
We hope this helps!
I really want to try this recipe and I have a bag of frozen Japanese mushrooms, since they are harder to get fresh here. I know fresh ones would be better, but do you think it would work with the frozen ones as well? And if yes, should I defrost them before or should I use them frozen?
Hi Tanja! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
You can use frozen mushrooms for this recipe. Add them without defrosting, and follow the recipe!
We hope you enjoy Japanese Mushroom Rice.😊
This is my first time trying this recipe and have a question on the rice to water ratio of 1 rice to 1.1 water. As the recipe calls for no water, is the combination of dashi, soy, mirin and sake the equivalent to the 1.1 water?
Hi Richard! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Yes! Instead of water, dashi and other liquid condiments were used in this recipe.
We hope this helps!
I have made this a handful of times with whatever mushrooms happen to come in my farm share, and I eat it with miso soup for a simple lunch. It’s gorgeous! I also discovered I’ve been using as little as approximately half the quantity of mushrooms to no detriment to the flavour of the recipe, if you find you’re a little short on mushrooms! I do find I need a little extra water in that situation, though, so bear that in mind.
Hi Meg! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us!
Serving Mushroom rice and warm Miso Soup sounds so good too! 😊
Happy Cooking!
I made this recipe before and it was a big hit with the whole family! Now my husband is asking for it again but we only have genmai/brown rice. What do I need to do differently/how much extra liquid should I use? Please help! T_T
Hi Pippa! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are so happy to hear your family enjoyed Japanese Mushroom Rice.
You can soak the brown rice separately for several hours (6 to 12 hours), then drained and added it to the rice cooker with listed amount of seasonings and dashi, then follow the recipe.🙂
We hope this helps!
You are wonderful, thank you so much for this helpful reply!
You are very welcome, Pippa! 😊