King Oyster Mushrooms make for an addicting finger food or meat substitute that is succulent and gelatinous and can be flexibly flavored.

Sourcing

East Asian focused grocery stores carry different varieties of these. Just about any variety, including mini King oyster mushrooms, will work fine for this recipe.

Prep

At minimum, Add salt or a salty bouillon base, that can work like a brine to prevent early spoilage.

Prep Steps

To figure out exactly how much water will be required:

1. Wash and Slice the Mushrooms – 2 X 1 inch pieces work well for most dishes
2. Fill a jar with mushrooms, and continue filling jars until all pieces are in jars.
3. Fill the jars so the water in each jar completely submerges the the mushrooms
4. Pour all the water into a single container – this is how much water is needed.

To make the marinade/brine:

1. Mix all spice ingredients into the water container.
2. Adjust levels to your taste.
3. Pour the flavored base into jars so that the mushrooms are complete submerged.

Wait

It can take up to two hours with the marinade mix at room temperature for the mushrooms to absorb the flavor. If you intend to prepare them at a later date, place in the jars in the fridge and keep them there until ready.

Fry

1. Drain the marinade from the jars – You can either keep and reuse the liquid a second batch of shrooms or use as stock for a soup/stew.
2. Place a stick of butter into a pan
3. Place the on stove and turn the heat as high as you possibly can without causing smoke.
4. Once the oil is very hot, toss the drained and marinated mushroom pieces into the pan.
5. Allow the pieces to brown on the one side, then them over and brown the other side as well.
6. Versatile texture range flash fry and cover for soft and chewy or let fry for longer time ( ~20 minutes ) with no cover for crunchier bits.
7. Once both sides are browned. Remove from the pan to cool.

For maximum enjoyment, serve immediately with meal or eat as an appetizer.