Chinese Tofu, Pak Choi & Mushroom One-Pot Dinner

Ingredients

• — Rice base —
• 90 g short grain rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
• 100 ml water, poured from a measuring jug
• — On top —
• 180 g tofu firm naked, drained and cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• 70 g pak choi, halved lengthways — big ones quartered — and washed well between the leaves
• 70 g chestnut mushrooms, cut in half, or into quarters if large
• ½ onion (about 60 g), sliced
• 6 g ginger, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 1½ tsp rice wine (Shaoxing), spooned
• 1 tbsp + 1¼ tsp soy sauce, stirred, then spooned
• 1¼ tsp sugar, spooned level
• — Finish up —
• ½ tsp sesame oil, spooned

Method

1. Tip the short grain rice into the 1.6 L container and pour in 100 ml water. Stir once so nothing sits dry, then level the grain under the water — it is the base everything else cooks on.
2. Layer the rest on top in an even layer — tofu firm naked, pak choi, chestnut mushrooms, onion, ginger, garlic, rice wine, soy sauce and sugar — right onto the wet grain, and do not stir: the rice cooks underneath while the topping steams above it. Cooking lid on loose.
3. Set the heat once: gentle — about 4 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 1 on a portable hob (see Heat below) — and set a timer for 34 minutes. On a plug-in portable hob, level 1 runs gentler on this pot — set the timer for 53 minutes there instead. It comes up to a gentle bubble, then the grain absorbs under the lid — no stirring, no peeking. Alternatively, if time is pressed: bring it to the boil on a higher heat — about 6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob — stirring now and then; that takes about 10–17 minutes. As soon as it boils, turn it back down to the gentle setting and set a timer for 10 minutes: about 20–27 minutes in all instead of 34. Do not leave it on the higher heat once it is boiling.
4. When the timer goes off, lift the lid just enough to look: the surface of the rice is dry with small steam holes and the protein is cooked through. White smoke curling from under the lid — heavier than the steam — is the bottom starting to catch: lid off, 2 tbsp hot water down the side, lid back on, give it a few more minutes. Water still pooling? Lid back on and set a timer for 4 minutes.
5. Heat off, lid on, and set a timer for 10 minutes — the rest finishes the grain, and skipping it is why one-pot rice disappoints. sesame oil over the top just before serving. Rest for 5 minutes, then fluff the rice and serve from the container.
6. To reheat from the fridge: storage lid off, cooking lid on loose, add 30 ml water if the sauce has set firm, and use a gentle-to-medium heat — about 4–6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob. Set a timer for 9 minutes; stir, then give it 5 minutes more until it is bubbling all over and piping hot right through. From frozen: add 50 ml water around the block, cooking lid on loose, use the same gentle heat for 18 minutes; loosen and stir, then give it 12 minutes more until bubbling all over and piping hot right through.