Japanese Cabbage Rolls - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 None dried shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 None green onions, sliced
1 piece (3/4 inch) fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Japanese pepper
14 oz ground pork mince
1/2 cup Japanese rice (koshihikari)
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh Japanese parsley (mitsuba), or flat-leaf parsley
1 None napa cabbage
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp dashi granules
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp mirin
None None FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce

Preparation

Place mushrooms in small heatproof bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand for 20 mins; drain. Discard stems; chop caps finely.
Meanwhile, heat sesame oil and 1 tbsp vegetable oil in small skillet on medium heat. Cook onion, ginger, garlic and pepper, stirring, for 2 mins, or until onion has softened. Cool.
Combine pork, mushrooms, rice, parsley and onion mixture in large bowl.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Trim 2 inches from bottom end of cabbage; discard. Place remaining cabbage in boiling water; simmer, uncovered, for 5 mins, or until leaves have wilted. Drain leaves over large bowl; reserve 3 cups cooking liquid. While liquid is hot, add vinegar, soy sauce, sake, mirin, dashi and remaining vegetable oil.
Lay 16 of the largest cabbage leaves, vein-side down, on work surface. Spoon rice mixture onto bottom end of each leaf. Roll up, tucking in sides to enclose filling.
Line a large saucepan with three-quarters of the remaining cabbage leaves. Place rolls on top, seam-side down. Cover with remaining leaves. Pour reserved cooking liquid over top. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, for 1 hour, or until pork and rice are cooked through.
For the dipping sauce, combine sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce in a small bowl. Serve cabbage rolls with dipping sauce.