This is a spin on a Japanese dish called Matsutake Gohan. The star of this dish is the prized Matsutake Mushroom, which in this case, will be complimented with seafood and bamboo rice. One could make the argument that these ingredients detract from the mushroom's dominance, but I believe the rice's flavor is complimentary to the mushroom and the seafood's contribution is benign enough to keep the mushroom at the forefront. The chili flakes add a gentle touch of salted heat and adds nicely to the visual aesthetic of the dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2lbs Matsutake #1 Mushrooms
• 1 cup Jade Pearl Rice (do not wash)
• 1 cup Dashi
• 1 tbsp Sake 
• 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• Kosher Salt (to taste)
• 4oz Lobster Tail
• 1/3lbs Bay Scallops
• 1/4lbs Bay Shrimp
• 1/4lbs Calamari Tentacles
• 5 medium shell-on Shrimp 
• Chili Flakes

Prep

• Matsutake Mushrooms: take a damp paper towel and clean all the dirt and mud off of the cap and stem. If the stem is really dirty, you can peel it, but be careful not to remove too much of the edible mushroom. You just want to remove a very thin layer to get the muck off. Once cleaned, cut the small woody part of the stem off at the bottom, taking care not to remove too much of the stem. Slice the whole mushroom into slivers and set aside. Note: young #1 mushrooms are at stage when the cap has not yet separated from the stem to reveal the gills. If you cut the mushroom while it's whole, you can preserve the appearance of the cap and stem as one. This is purely an aesthetic decision.
• Shrimp:  Using scissors, cut the top of the shrimp shell open from where the head was to the tail. Using your fingers, open the shell up by peeling it away from the body and lifting the meat up and out. Using a small pairing knife or similar, split the shrimp from front to back to reveal the digestive tract. Pull out the tract and discard. Repeat for the remaining shrimp. 
• Drying the seafood: Seafood is usually pretty wet, so it helps to dry it off a bit before cooking. Place some paper towels down and spread your seafood out on them. For really wet ones, like the calamari, you can place a towel on top as well and gently press down to help remove excess water.
• Lobster: Using a scissor, cut the top of the lobster tail from head to the fan of the tail. Using your fingers, spread the tail open to reveal the meat. Slide your finger between the shell and the meat to dislodge it. Gently continue this motion until you get to the fan of the tail, then repeat for the other side of the shell. The very end of the meat will still be attached to the fan of the tail, which will hold it in place while cooking. Starting from the front, lift the meat away from the bottom of the shell until you feel resistance at the fan of the tail. Close the shell back up and lay the meat on top. Sprinkle with salt, onion powder and red chili flakes. It will be cooked under the broiler, so preheat the broiler before you're ready to cook the tail.
• Seasoning: Lightly sprinkle all of the seafood with salt and onion powder a few minutes before you're ready to cook them.

Cooking Instructions

Rice

• In a medium saucepan combine the dashi, rice, sake, soy sauce and salt. Lay the matsutake mushroom on top. 
• Uncovered, heat the pan over high heat until it begins to boil. Lower the heat as low as it will go, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 12 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let the rice steam, still covered, for 15 minutes. 
• Fluff the rice with a rice paddle or fork.

Seafood

• Start preheating a medium fry pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a little canola oil to the pan, toss the calamari in and sauté for 1 minute.
• Add the shrimp and satué for 30 seconds (the pan should still be very hot. If it seems like it's losing heat, then crank the heat up to high).
• Add the remaining seafood and saute for 30 seconds
• Add 1/8th cup of Sake to deglaze the pan. Reduce any remaining liquid down by 70%.
• Add 1/4 Dashi broth to the pan, season with kosher salt and some fresh cracked black pepper.
• Swirl and cook over medium high heat until seafood is just about cooked through. 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from heat.

Lobster

• Place the lobster under the broiler and cook until opaque. Lobster goes from moist and delicious to completely hammered in a very short amount of time, so pay attention to this step. Once it goes under the broiler, you probably have a good 3-4 minutes before you have to start checking on it. After that, keep checking every 1 to 2 minutes. It all depends on how your oven cooks, but it should be in there between 5-10 minutes. Mine took about 7 minutes.

Finishing the Dish

• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the seafood to the rice pot and fold it in to the rice.
• Taste the remaining liquid in the fry pan, and if desired, you can add a bit of this to the pot of rice, or spoon it over the plated food.
• Using a spoon, place the rice on the plate, ensuring that the seafood is evenly distributed throughout the plate.
• Sprinkle chili flakes on top of the rice.
• Cut the end of the tail meat from the fan section of the tail and lift it off from the shell. Place the meat on top of the dish along with any other desired garnishes. 

The Finished Dish