Directions

• Place chicken stock and dried mushrooms in a microwave-safe container. Microwave on high until simmering, about 5 minutes. Remove from microwave, and transfer mushrooms to a cutting board and chop.
• Add rice to chicken stock, and stir. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Allow to drain well, shaking rice of excess liquid.
• Heat oil and butter in a heavy 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add fresh mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until excess moisture has evaporated and mushrooms are well browned, about 8 minutes.
• Add onion, garlic and chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened, about 4 minutes.
• Add rice and cook, stirring, until rice is evenly coated in oil and is toasted, but not browned, about 4 minutes. Rice should start to look cloudy in the center. Stir in soy sauce and miso paste until evenly incorporated.
• Add wine and cook, stirring, until alcohol smell has cooked off and wine has almost full evaporated, about 2 minutes.
• Give reserved stock a good stir, and pour all but one cup over rice. Add a large pinch of salt, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Stir rice once, making sure no grains are sticking to the side of the pan. Cover and reduce heat to lowest setting.
• Cook rice for 10 minutes undisturbed. Stir once, shake to gently redistribute rice, cover, and continue cooking until liquid is mostly absorbed and rice is tender with just a faint bite, about 5 minutes longer.
• Remove lid. Stir remaining one cup of stock to distribute starch, then stir into rice. Increase heat to high, add asparagus, and cook, stirring and shaking rice constantly until asparagus is tender-crisp and rice is thick and creamy. Add more stock or water as necessary.
• Take the rice off the heat. Add cheese and stir to thoroughly incorporate. Season with salt, and stir in the herbs. Serve immediately.