Truffle Mushroom Risotto Rice (DIY Step-by-Step Recipe)

Hallo all! I bought Truffle Oil recently (Molinera brand – do NOT buy this brand, I am not a fan). Anyway, despite not being fond of what I ended up purchasing, one must use up what one has. So here I am, scouring the internet for truffle recipes. Thankfully, my friend introduced Truffle Mushroom Risotto Rice to me, so let’s get started!

DELECTABLE FOOD FOR THE DAY: TRUFFLE MUSHROOM RISOTTO RICE

DIFFICULTY: Easy but time-consuming

SERVING SIZE: Good for 5 hungry people – the rice is actually really heavy on the stomach!

PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

• 400g White Mushroom, sliced
• 400g Shiitake Mushroom, sliced
• 4 tbsp butter
• 6 cups Chicken Stock (made from boiling chicken bones)
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice (you can also use Jasmine Rice as a substitute, but just add 1/4 cup milk at the end to make it creamier)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (you can opt to increase this depending on preference)
• 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
• 3/4 tsp Truffle Oil (can add more depending on preference)
• Salt and Pepper

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR TRUFFLE MUSHROOM RISOTTO RICE

STEP 1: Prepare the chicken stock and rice

• Do NOT skip this step. (I skipped it because I was lazy, but apparently it’s really important, as it can help lessen the cooking time hehe! In a saucepan, heat up the chicken stock until it’s simmering. You can do this by either placing in the microwave for 5 minutes, or placing on top of a medium heat stovetop
• Measure out 1 1/2 cup of Jasmine Rice, and wash in water. Strain out the water and all the dirt afterwards.
• Add the washed rice to the chicken stock and stir to release the starch. Afterwards, strain the rice over a bowl to separate the rice from the stock. This is important because washing the rice with the stock creates a starchy liquid. This in turn will ensure the rice “thickens” while cooking, and will result in a silky texture

STEP 2: Prepare the mushroom fillings

• Roughly chop the mushrooms. I used white mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms because these two mushroom combo is simply heavenly. You can choose to use different mushroom types as well, depending on preference

• Heat oil and 4 tbsp butter on the pan over medium-heat. Once it’s fully melted, add the fresh mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and stir. Cook until mushrooms are well-browned – which can take ~5 minutes.

STEP 3: Start cooking the rice

• Pour in the 1 1/2 cup of rice and stir continuously, making the sure rice is coated with oil and is toasted, but not browned. This should take ~2 minutes, or until all the rice takes on a pale, golden color

• Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine (or more, depending on preference). Stir continuously until wine has been fully absorbed and when the raw alcohol smell has been cooked off. This will take roughly 2 minutes

• Stir well the heated chicken stock, then pour 1/2 cup of stock over the rice and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time (or ladle by ladle), stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender but not mushy. Supposedly, this is meant to take ~20 minutes, but I ended up stirring closer to 45 minutes. Supposedly, if you increase the heat and broth is boiling, it would cook the mushroom rice faster… I didn’t want to risk it though, so I kept it at medium heat and just stirred for longer, which would also help ensure the release of starch occurred slowly

• If you feel your risotto is too thick and dry, you can opt to add more chicken stock/water/or even milk to make the texture creamier. Note: This is why arborio rice is recommended for risotto because it has more starch content which allows it to absorb the liquid better and result in a creamier texture. Jasmine rice (which is what I used) will clump together, so I had to add 1/4 cup of milk to compensate.

• Afterwards, turn off the heat, then immediately add in the 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, 3/4 tsp Truffle Oil, salt, pepper, and other herbs – stir immediately to rapidly incorporate while the pan is still hot

Step 4: Bon Appetit!

As I love my meat, I also added sliced duck on top for additional flavor. Good thing too, because I apparently didn’t put enough salt into the risotto so the duck ended up providing that additional taste and texture to the dish. Yum!