Shiitake, Maitaki Plus Mushroom Dashi

Jason Beliveau

When prepping to open Nami, a contemporary Japanese concept, Jason Beliveau, chef de cuisine, felt something was missing from the menu. “I need to create an amazing plant-based dish that speaks to both Japanese traditions and the American/European palate,” he declared to his wife at the start of a Nippon vacation. He found his inspiration in Kyoto, in an aromatic rice dish steeped in ginger and prepared in a donabe (clay pot).

Nami’s Mushroom Donabe features Koshihikari rice sweated in rice oil, brunoised ginger and small diced shiitake and maitake mushrooms. This mixture is covered with a dashi of both, fresh and dried mushrooms, scallion, ginger, onion and kombu and then cooked in a lidded clay pot. At service, the dish is crowned with a creamy and sweet black garlic purée and sautéed mushrooms. It’s garnished with a house furikake, shichimi togarashi and flake salt. “We bring it out to the dining room and take off the lid with a flourish, unveiling the gingery, mushroom-perfumed steam for all to enjoy,” says Beliveau. The dish, selected as either a side or a stand-alone vegetarian entrée, has exceeded all expectations. “Initially, we planned to sell maybe seven servings a night, but from the first week, the count is typically around 15 to 20 a night!”

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