Brown Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach

Power Foods. Brown rice with mushrooms and spinach. Fact of the matter was this. I originally wanted to serve this rice dish with pork tenderloin, but Zack and I ended up just wanting a quick meal after our long days of work. So we just grilled up a couple chicken breasts; nothing fancy.

Stir together short-grain brown rice, water, finely chopped fresh ginger, minced garlic, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed (45-50 minutes). Stir in baby spinach, cover, and let steam for 3 minutes. Stir in sauteed shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped scallions (white and pale green parts only), chopped cilantro, tamari soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.  

This rice was really delicious (even though it doesn't photograph that amazingly), but apparently, Zack and I need to learn how to saute mushrooms. Because ours were mediocre. Like so mediocre we pulled them out the next day when we were eating leftovers. More on that later I suppose, because I'm sure I'll be cooking with mushrooms again. Other than that, this rice was real comforting and had great chunky texture. And I am totally digging my experiments with Asian-influenced sauces lately.