Place the chicken stock and dried mushrooms in a saucepan over medium heat until just simmering, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and using a slotted spoon, transfer rehydrated mushrooms to a cutting board and roughly chop.

Add rice to hot chicken stock and stir with a wooden spoon to release starch. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer set over a heatproof measuring jug or bowl to capture the liquid. Allow the rice to drain well, shaking off excess liquid.

Heat oil and butter in a large (~30cm) heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat swirling, until the butter just stops foaming. Add fresh mushrooms, season to taste 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 porcini mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until rice is evenly coated in oil and toasted but not browned, about 3 minutes. (Rice grains should start to look slightly translucent around the edges.) Stir in soy sauce and miso paste until evenly incorporated.

Add wine and cook, stirring, until alcohol has cooked off and wine has almost fully evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Give reserved stock a good stir to distribute starch. Remove 250ml (1 cup) of the stock and set aside, and pour the remainder of the liquid into pan over rice. Add a large pinch of salt, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Stir rice, making sure no stray grains are clinging to the side of the pan above the liquid. Cover and reduce to the lowest possible heat.

Cook rice for 10 minutes undisturbed. Stir once, shake pan gently to 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 1 cup of stock to distribute starch, then stir into rice. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring and shaking constantly for just a minute or two until the liquid is heated through and thickens. The rice should be thick and creamy and quite 'saucy' in texture; add a little more stock or water if risotto becomes too thick and dry. Remove pan from heat, add cheese and stir rapidly to thoroughly incorporate. Fold in cream, if using. Season to taste and stir in most of the parsley. Serve immediately on hot plates, adding extra parmesan to taste and a sprinkling of reserved parsley.

This recipe is adapted from an original by chef and food wizard J. Kenji López-Alt for Serious Eats. Washing the rice in the stock reserves the starch which helps to make a creamy risotto without continual stirring, while cooking in a large sauté pan instead of a saucepan helps the grains to cook evenly.