One Pot Cabbage Rice with Mushroom

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You don’t want to miss this One Pot Cabbage Rice with Mushroom made in the rice cooker! This nutritious and delicious dish is packed with carbs, veggies, and then topped with ginger scallion fish. All you have to do is add all the ingredients in the rice cooker and wait for the magic to happen!

A plate of rice topped with cabbage, mushrooms, and sardines, garnished with sliced ginger and chopped green onions.

🔍 Quick Look: One Pot Cabbage Rice with Mushroom 🍄

What is it? Cabbage and shiitake mushrooms are cooked together with rice in the rice cooker. To get in healthy protein, I added sardines at the end with hot oil, ginger and scallion just like the traditional Chinese steamed fish with ginger and spring onion recipe.
Why you’ll love this recipe: This one pot cabbage and mushroom rice is vegetarian approved and packed with savory flavor. Chop the vegetables and let the rice cooker do the cooking.
🕒 Total Cook Time: 15 minutes to prep ingredients and then 1 hour to cook in the rice cooker.
🔥 Cook Method: Rice cooker or stovetop pot!
👩‍🍳 Flavor Profile: Savory and sweet from the cabbage. The aromatics from the ginger and scallion take out the fishy taste of the sardines.
⭐ Difficulty: Super easy! No cooking skills required!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This recipe is perfect for those who are busy, but want something nutritious and delicious. This one pot rice with cabbage and mushroom is topped with sardines which are packed with omega 3’s, B12 and D. I was inspired by Chinese Steamed Fish with Ginger and Scallion because I don’t like the ‘fishy’ taste. The hot oil and aromatics are perfect to help with the ‘fishy’ flavor and brings freshness to the dish. All you have to do is throw chopped vegetables in the rice cooker and let the appliance do the cooking.

I’m a pro on creating rice cooker recipes like my One Pot Oyakodon and Chinese Sausage Rice. The rice and ingredients are measured out perfectly so the rice and veggies are cooked well (just like this one!)

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🔍 Quick Look: One Pot Cabbage Rice with Mushroom 🍄
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Key Ingredients
Substitutions and Variations
How to Make (Recipe Keyword) Instructions
Stovetop Pot Instructions:
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
Check Out More Related Recipes:
One Pot Rice with Cabbage and Mushroom

Key Ingredients

Here’s a look at what you need to make this One Pot Rice with Cabbage, Mushroom, and Sardines. I made this recipe in a Zojirushi Rice Cooker, but any rice cooker or stovetop pot works too (see instructions for stovetop below!). The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.

Ingredients laid out on a marble table countertop including short grain rice, sardines, green cabbage, ginger, mushrooms, garlic, salt and oyster sauce.

short grain rice (Japanese sushi rice is great for this!) Using short grain rice is perfect because it has a nice sticky and chewy consistency.
fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms – I used dried mushrooms because I had them in my pantry. If you can get shiitake mushrooms fresh, they taste more juicy and tender. Feel free to substitute with other mushrooms you have on hand!
green cabbage – thinly slice your cabbage so it softens quickly when you cook your rice.
ginger and garlic – aromatics make the rice extra fragrant and tasty. You can take out the ginger before serving so the flavor is not too strong when you bite into it.
oyster sauce (use vegan or regular) – a must add to bring savory and sweet flavor to your cabbage and rice.

garnish: a quick shortcut to make ginger scallion fish to complete the meal!

cooked sardines (my favorite is the Tin Fish Wife Preserved Lemon) is an easy way to get your protein in.
sliced ginger and green onions – add plenty to take out the ‘fishy’ flavor. This is how Chinese people steam fish to bring out the ‘sweetness’ of the seafood.
hot oil – heat up avocado oil (or a high temperature cooking oil) in a pot or pan until you see smoke. Then add the hot oil directly on the green onions and ginger to cook them.
low sodium soy sauce – is added on top of the sardines to add saltiness to the fish and cabbage mushroom rice. If you have seafood soy sauce (tastes milder and sweeter), you can use this to garnish the rice as well.
freshly grated lemon zest is completely optional yet adds so much fresh flavor especially when you’re eating fish.

Substitutions and Variations

Instead of sardines, use your favorite type of tinned fish like salmon or tuna. Make sure you use a tinned fish that is not too salty to overpower the flavor of the one pot cabbage and mushroom rice.
If you don’t have shiitake mushrooms, you can use cremini or button mushrooms. Any that you can find at your grocery store works! Just make sure you use the same quantity.
If you want to add more vegetables, you can add some napa cabbage or carrot to the rice as well! Just add a small handful so you ensure the rice is cooked evenly.

How to Make (Recipe Keyword) Instructions

Soaked up rice in a pot next to a small white bowl with soaked mushrooms.

Step 1: Soak 1 cup short grain rice with 2 cups water. Soaking the rice in water helps soften the rice as short grain rice can be hard in the center if not soaked. (optional – soak your shiitake mushrooms if they are the dried kind. If the shiitake mushrooms are fresh, skip this step).

Sliced shiitake mushrooms, green cabbage, ginger and minced garlic on a chopping board.

Step 2: While rice is soaking, you can prep the other ingredients. Slice 4 shiitake mushrooms and green cabbage. Slice ginger and mince garlic.

A hand with rice grains next to a pot filled with water.

Step 3: After prepping, wash your rice with running water until the water is clear (takes 4-6 times). Strain the rice and make sure it has as little water as possible. This ensures that you can add the most accurate amount of water in the next step.

A pot of uncooked rice with water, sliced ginger, shiitake mushrooms and cabbage.

Step 4: Next, add all the ingredients to the rice: add 1 cup of water, sliced shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, garlic, oyster sauce, and salt. Mix together well and top it off with sliced ginger.

Step 5: Place rice in the rice cooker. If you don’t have a rice cooker, see how to make this rice on the stovetop with instructions below. Press the button and wait!

Sliced green onions and ginger on a chopping board with an open can of sardines.

Step 6: Slice green onions and ginger. Open your tinned fish. Set aside until your rice is ready. Once the rice is ready, take out the sliced ginger and throw it away. Mix together rice.

Step 7: Heat your oil on the stove until you see some smoke.

Step 8: Add sliced onions, ginger, sardines, on top of your rice. Then add a spash of hot oil and soy sauce to taste. Serve with lemon zest (optional) and enjoy!

Cooked rice with sliced ginger, shiitake mushrooms and cabbage in a rice cooker.

Stovetop Pot Instructions:

I understand that not everyone has a rice cooker, so some of us might use pots on the stovetop to cook the rice. If that is you, get your medium sized pot ready. Add the rice, cabbage, and mushroom according to the recipe directions. Once your pot is filled with rice and all the ingredients…follow the instructions below and you can make your one pot cabbage rice with mushroom and sardines.

Heat pot to medium high and cook for 5-7 minutes covered with a lid. The water will start boiling. Make sure to watch over the fire because the water might boil over ◡̈
After 5-7 minutes, turn heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes covered. Do not open the lid during the entire cooking process.
Then turn off the heat and do not open the covered pot. Leave for 20 minutes covered. After the 20-25 minutes is up, mix the rice together and garnish with sardines, sliced green onions, ginger and soy sauce. Hope you enjoy.

Expert Tips

Use short grain rice for this dish. Don’t forget to wash the rice in a strainer a few times until the water runs clear. If you don’t wash off the excess starch in the rice, the rice clumps together and tastes a little grainy when cooked. After washing the short grain rice, the grains will separate and make the rice smooth and soft!
Soak the short grain rice in water while you prep the cabbage and mushrooms. This helps soften the rice and give you great texture. Don’t worry, the rice is still chewy and tender, it will not be mushy after doing this.
For the garnish: thinly slice your ginger and green onions when adding to your fish. Huge chunks of ginger will make your dish taste too spicy.

Recipe FAQs

What rice cooker do you use?

Zojirushi rice cooker – this is the rice cooker I use and it works great! I bought it at Costco 8 years ago and it’s still reliable to this day. The rice always comes out delicious! I recommend checking Costco if they have this brand or you can buy it on Amazon.

Can I use brown rice for the one pot rice?

Yes, you can use brown rice. Keep in mind that the recipe I created is for short grain rice and the water measurements may be slightly off. You may want to change the rice setting in your rice cooker as well.

Can I use other types of protein?

Yes, you can use your favorite tinned fish your top it with your favorite cooked protein. I prefer fish for the easy access and health benefits (I’m watching my cholesterol!). If you want a different protein, you can try making my Soy Sauce Chicken. I also have a vegetarian One Pot Mushroom Rice that is a hit too!

What can I serve this with?

You can serve this rice with more delicious vegetables like this Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce and some protein like this Korean Spicy Marinated Tofu. For a full feast, you can serve with this Chinese Chicken Soup .