I find this combination delicious – shimeji mushrooms, with the fragrance of garlic and the richness of butter. And it a vey simple dish to make. You melt butter, sauté the garlic, and toss in the mushrooms. Season. Done. However, I do mine with one extra step, to introduce a bit of wok hei.
The problem, is that the mushrooms benefit from a very quick, high heat fry – it infuses wok hei and gives a lovely char. Cook the mushrooms too long, especially on low heat, and they shrink and turn mushy. However, butter burns on high heat. So I give the mushrooms a blast of heat, remove the fungi, let the wok cool down, and then complete the dish. Its an extra step, but it works for me!
Ingredients and Prep
Is simple enough – its shimeiji, garlic and butter :
I used one packet of mushrooms here, with 4 cloves of garlic and some butter. I like my mushrooms to have pretty assertive garlic flavours – reduce the garlic if you prefer. You will also need a bit of seasoning. I use one teaspoon of a light soya and a tablespoon of sake (mirin should also be fine – the dish will be sweeter). So the list is :
- One pack shimeiji mushrooms (~150g)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 20 grams butter
- Seasoning – one teaspoon light soya, and one tablespoon sake
To prep, trim off the base of the cluster of mushrooms so that you separate them, and mince the garlic. You are set.
Cook!
Its simple enough. Grab a good wok or large fry pan – I used my trusty Iuiga non-stick. Turn the heat med-high, heat the pan up with just a little oil, till you can feel the heat when you hold your hand over the hand, and the oil almost smokes. Then toss in the shrooms, and give it a quick fry. As soon as they are charred a bit, you want to take them out of the hot pan and set them aside.
Then, switch off the heat, and allow the pan to cool. This is important, cause butter will burn if you put it onto a very hot pan. The next bit need to done essentially on medium-low heat. Melt the butter in the pan, and fry the garlic till fragrant.
Next, you need to get the mushrooms back in the pan, add the seasoning, and stir it up. Let it cook a bit, and you are done!
Eat!
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