mushroom – Sybaritica

Today’s recipe was inspired by one I saw in a fairly old Japanese cookery book. It is Enoki Mushrooms (Enokitake in Japanese) which are braised in rice wine and soy, and it generally follows the Japanese recipe except that, instead of Mirin, I uses Chinese Rice Wine, and, rather than cooking oil, I use butter. Butter does occasionally get used in some Japanese preparations, but it is an uncommon ingredient and I have used it here because it lends a nice depth of flavor and richness…

I began with a 100 gram package of Enoki. I cut away the dense, somewhat fibrous common ‘root’ and then separated the individual mushrooms from each other, leaving some of the tiniest still grouped together.

Cooking is easy… Just melt a tablespoon or so of butter in a pan on medium heat, add the mushrooms and stir until coated, then add about three tablespoons of rice wine (or mirin if you prefer), a teaspoon of light soya sauce, then cover the pot and let the mushrooms braise until tender and limp. Finally, before serving, add in a little finely sliced or shredded green onion (green part only).

That’s it….

Today’s dish illustrates one use of the Preserved Radish that I introduced to you not long ago. In this case, it is a stir-fried dish with the primary ingredient being water-velveted Pork along with some Black Chinese Mushroom … Continue reading “Pork with Preserved Radish”

The very simplicity of this vegetable dish lends it a sort of elegance and the nature of the seasonings makes it very versatile as well as easy to put together. It would be as well at home as a dish in an Asian meal as it would a vegetable side for western style roasts, steaks, or almost anything else… Continue reading “Bok Choy and Mushrooms”

Not long before writing this post, I happened to throw together a little vegetable side dish for a steak I was cooking. I used a half zucchini I had left over, along with some tomatoes and herbs, and the result was so tasty I thought I would share. I actually ended up embellishing the original recipe somewhat, notably by including mushrooms this time, but, as you will see, my opinion as to the success of those embellishments was a little mixed… Continue reading “Zucchini with Mushroom and Tomato”

Today’s dish is a fairly straightforward preparation that is really easy to put together. Beef and mushrooms always go together and, for this particular stir-fried version, I will be using Chinese Black Mushrooms (commonly known as Shiitake)  and Shaoxing Wine for a bit of added depth… Continue reading “Mushroom Scallion Beef”

When I first tasted Chinese Black Mushrooms back in the mid 1980’s, they were not at all well known in my corner of the world. They were introduced to me by a Chinese room-mate I had in my second year of law school and it is quite a few years before I ever saw them for sale in local stores. Since then, though, they have become a staple in my pantry and I would say that rarely a week  passes that I do not include them in at least one meal or another.

These days, the dried, and even the fresh variety, are fairly easy to come by and most people are somewhat familiar with them,  albeit usually by the Japanese name, ‘Shiitake’. Still, although the mushrooms are almost ubiquitous, and the number of people who have never tasted them is diminishing, they don’t yet seem to be common in the kitchens of non-Asian Canadians. This is a shame really, as, aside from being extremely versatile, these little fungi, in their dried form, pack an umami punch that is nothing short of amazing… Continue reading “Foodstuff: Chinese Dried Black Mushrooms (Shiitake)”

This will be the second post featuring the Chili Pickled Bamboo I introduced a little while ago. My wife is very fond of the product but she was away when I recently cooked my Dry-fried Beef with Preserved Bamboo and didn’t get to try it. So, for our supper tonight, I am putting together a simple but tasty dish that incorporates the pickle along with chicken, button mushrooms, and a little extra chili for some added spiciness… Continue reading “Chicken with Mushroom and Pickled Bamboo”