Recipe: Medicinal Mushroom Chutney with Coconut Curry Leaf Rice

Several people asked me for the recipe of the potluck dish I brought to the very fun Chinese Trip photo sharing gathering we had tonight, so here it is. It’s awesome for your immune system, and yes, I really eat like this – I just made this up for my own breakfast one morning. I don’t measure my spices, so I’m guessing at the amount.

Ingredients:

Rice:
2 cups sweet rice, uncooked and rinsed
3 ½ cups combined mushroom soaking water plus extra water
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I use Bob’s Red Mill brand)
1 Tbsp. dried curry leaves
5 cardamom pods, cut open

Mushroom Chutney:
8 dried Shitake mushrooms
1 large dried Maitake mushroom
6 fresh Crimini mushrooms (or other of your choice)
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 shake cumin seeds
sprinkle of turmeric
sprinkle of curry
olive oil for sautéing
sprinkle of soy sauce
1 fresh roma tomato, chopped
2-3 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp. flax seed oil

Directions:

First, place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl and let soak for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the fresh mushrooms, tomato, and garlic cloves, and rinse the rice well.

Once the mushrooms are re-hydrated, take them out but keep the soaking water to use as part of the liquid to cook the rice in. Chop the mushrooms, discarding any tough stems.

Combine all ingredients for rice and cook until done. Remove the cardamom pods when the rice is finished cooking (it’s ok to eat the round black seeds in the middle, so leave them in if you want!).

For the mushroom chutney, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over med-high heat. Sprinkle the cumin seeds in, and when they start to sizzle a little add all the chopped mushrooms and walnuts. Sprinkle on some turmeric and curry spices. Stir fry until the mushrooms are slightly browned. Then pour a little soy sauce over the mixture, give it a few stirs and turn it off.

In a bowl, stir together the cooked mushroom mixture with the fresh tomato, fresh chopped garlic, and flax seed oil. Use this as a topping for the rice. Enjoy!!

~Cynthia
Instructor for Taoist Five Element Nutrition Program