Mushroom Side Dish

Mushroom Namul 표고버섯 나물

This is another quick and easy banchan.  It's a nice easy one to make while you are cooking other things in the kitchen because it involves some sit time.  This is one of my favorites and Hubby gobbles it up.  It is good cold or hot, although I prefer it warmed up.  This recipe calls for dehydrated shiitake mushrooms.  If you don't have a Korean or Asian market near by you could try using fresh shiitake mushrooms and skip the soaking and only saute them for a short time.  I have yet to try this but I'm thinking that it would work just fine, they just won't keep as long and will be slightly softer in texture.
On that note...on with the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 12 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in hot water for about 30 minutes until soft.  (Substitute fresh shiitake mushrooms but do not soak)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 spring onion finely chopped
• ½-1 tsp sesame oil
• Pinch of salt

Directions: 

1. Boil 3 cups of water and pour into a bowl.  Add the 12 shiitake mushrooms and cover bowl.  Let the mushrooms sit for 30 min or more until they are reconstituted.

2. Remove the mushrooms from the water and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Slice the mushrooms and discard the stems.

3. Heat a small frying pan on medium heat and add the 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil.  Add the mushrooms, garlic, sesame seeds and salt to the pan and sauté so the mushrooms soften a bit more but do not lose their firmness.  About 1-2 minutes.

Remove mushrooms form heat and stir in the spring onion and sesame oil.  Add more salt to taste if needed at this time.

*Storage Tip: These mushrooms are good for 1-5 days if kept refrigerated (if they last you that long)  They can be served cold but I think they are best if you heat them up in a frying pan again before serving. 

* Serving Suggestions: These mushrooms are great with everything.  They are particularly good with a meal you are not serving meat with.  Their texture and flavor will help satiate the cravings of any meat lover you happen to be serving.  Hubby and I love to eat this with rice, kimchi, dried seaweed and an egg for an easy weeknight dinner.