poached shiitake mushrooms in olive oil with roasted garlic, sage, and peppercorn

Slowly, ever so slowly, roasting the garlic in olive oil until they reach a lightly golden hue before adding in the sage leaves, whole peppercorn, and shiitake will give you an earthy condiment (is that what this is?) that is a pleasure to toss with veggie dishes for an umami pop.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• whole garlic cloves, peeled
• whole black peppercorn
• sage leaves
• shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• salt

In a small saucepan, pour in olive oil until the garlic cloves are just submerged and allow to slowly roast over low heat. When the garlic cloves are lightly golden, add in the whole black peppercorns, sage leaves, and shiitake mushrooms. Allow the shiitake mushrooms to poach in the olive oil mixture, stirring occasionally, until they are cooked through.

 

bok choy & shiitake duo

Inspired by Jeong Kwan in the first episode of Chef’s Table Season 3, I tried my hand at cooking shiitake mushrooms that taste better than meat using the two ingredients she suggests: soy sauce and sesame oil. The end result was definitely good, but better than meat? Unfortunately I cannot make that claim. Maybe I should have fried the mushrooms a bit before poaching? Next time. For now though, this recipe will give you shiitake mushrooms that are delicious and certainly better than some meat dishes out there! I paired the shiitake with a head of bok choy to lighten up the plate from the earthy flavors of the mushrooms. I hope you enjoy the duo!

Ingredients:

• bok choy
• shiitake mushrooms (optional, decorative cuts on top – can also just make an “X” cut)
• salt
• soy sauce
• sesame oil

Directions:

1. Get a small pot of lightly salted water boiling for the bok choy. When it comes to a boil, turn down the heat until it is just simmering and add in the bok choy. Let the bok choy simmer until it reaches your desired texture before removing from the water.
2. In a large enough pan, lay the shiitake mushrooms top side down in sesame oil over medium-low heat. After about a minute, add in the soy sauce. You want the ratio to be about 1:5 of sesame oil to soy sauce. When the top changes to a darker color, flip each of the shiitake, turn up the heat a bit, and cook until done.
3. Remove the shiitake from the pan and reduce the soy sauce & sesame oil mixture until the sauce thickens.
4. Plate any way you desire being sure to include some of the sauce with the mushrooms!