Gochujang King Oyster Mushrooms
Let’s talk MUSHROOMS, aka my most recent obsession! And no, not the trippy, hippy kind.
Have you ever noticed that a typical US grocery store sells approximately four mushroom varieties? You’ve got the ubiquitous white mushroom, the almost identical brown, crimini or baby bellas, and portabellas (a grown up crimini). On a good day, you may run into some shiitakes. End of story. In actuality, there over 2,000 edible mushroom species and among these about 650 have been cultivated. If we break that down further to a list of edible mushrooms that we all should know and be able to get our hands on without foraging in the woods, the list includes 39 beautiful, unique varieties. I encourage you to seek out these fungi and ask questions on how to best prepare them, as I did one lovely fall morning at the Kennett Square (the undisputed mushroom capital of America) table at the Rehoboth Beach Farmers Market.
The first variety that I bought and enjoyed immensely was Hen of the Woods, also known as maitake mushrooms. These mushrooms pull-apart in a way that replicates shredded meat. I sautéed them in a bit of olive oil with shallot, garlic, salt and pepper and then ate them on open-faced rye toast with melted Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. A vegetarian Reuben of sorts. Fantastic!
The second variety was King Oyster. I had initially imagined slicing these giant shrooms horizontally into 3/4-inch discs and preparing them as if they were scallops but landed on this recipe for Gochujang King Oyster Mushrooms and decided to go this route instead. For this dish, you slice the mushrooms vertically into 1/4-inch planks and marinate them for a little bit before pan-frying. The resulting umami bombs are a dream, perfect when pared with a simple bowl of rice. Throw in a cucumber salad and you are a rockstar.
If you don’t live in Kennett Square, PA or frequent a farmer’s market with a mushroom vendor, your best bet at finding King Oyster Mushrooms (or any exciting variety) is Whole Foods or better yet, an Asian supermarket if you happen to live within driving distance of one. I encourage you to go explore and if there is no one on site to answer your preparation questions, trust that a quick google search at home will point you in the right direction. There is a world of mushroomy goodness out there just waiting for us Americans to explore. Enjoy!
PS: I’ll be back next week with the winning cookie recipe from tonight’s annual River Falls Cookie Exchange. Get ready to bake!
Gochujang King Oyster Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 3-4 large king oyster mushrooms
Sauce/Marinade
- 1 Tbls soy sauce or tamari, for gluten-free
- 1 Tbls gochujang korean chili paste
- 2 Tbls mirin or sake or other rice wine
- 1.5 Tbls sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1/2 Tbls sesame oil
To Cook
- neutral oil
To Serve
- steamed rice
- sliced cucumbers optional
- sesame seeds for topping
- sliced scallions for topping
Instructions
- Slice the mushrooms into 1/4-inch thick pieces. If you’re using extra large king oyster mushrooms you’ll need to slice these into half (horizontally) before slicing them into thin pieces.
Prepare Sauce/Marinade
- Simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your taste.
- Add the sliced mushrooms to the marinade. Leave the mushrooms to marinate for at least 20 minutes. You can leave these to marinate overnight in the fridge but do note that the mushrooms will continue to release liquid.
- Do not discard the excess sauce/marinade.
To Cook:
- Heat a large cast iron pan or skillet over medium. Once hot, add some oil.
- Place the pieces of marinated mushroom one-by-one and lay them flat on the pan. Leave the mushrooms untouched for 3-4 minutes or until lightly charred and then flip over to repeat on the other side. Once nice and lightly charred on both sides, remove the mushrooms from the pan.
- Repeat this for the rest mushrooms, in batches, if they do not all fit in your pan.
- Once all the mushrooms are lightly charred. Place them back into the pan and then pour in the remaining sauce/marinade. Leave the mushrooms to cook in the sauce until it starts to thicken and glazes the mushrooms.
- Turn off the heat and serve the mushrooms with rice or other carbs and veggies of your choice. Best enjoyed while hot!