Only until I finished editing all the pictures and started searching other mentaiko recipes on my blog, surprisingly there was already one old post back in 2012 for mentaiko mushrooms. So I carefully compared the 2012 post with the most up-to-date version here. Well, they're almost the same with just a slight variance on the ingredients used.
This 2017 version did not include Japanese mayonnaise, but with the addition of garlic slices. In a way the older version tastes more like an otsumami/beer food, and this updated version serves better as a side dish, especially if you are looking for something that works well for bento box.
So here it is, the mushrooms made with lunchbox side dish in mind.
Mentaiko mushrooms 2017 -
Ingredients?
- 1 bundle enoki mushroom
- 1 bundle bunapi mushrooms
- 1 bundle shimeji mushrooms
- 3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons mentaiko (about 2 sacs)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves
- Small pinch salt
- Some dried seaweed threads or flakes
How?
Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Trim off any tougher ends then rinse and pat dry all three kinds of mushrooms.
Remove fish roe from the sac/membrane -
Add the butter and garlic slices to the pan and turn to medium high heat. Add a small pinch of salt. Wait till the butter starts to melt and gently cooking the garlic slices.
Just a little bit of salt at first to help drawing out some excess moisture from the mushrooms. The mentaiko can be quite salty, so try to avoid over-salting the dish, you can always add more salt in the end.
Transfer all the mushrooms to the pan and stir-fry till softened and shrink by about half of their original size.
Mix in mentaiko and cook for another minute. Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed.
Plate the mushrooms and garnish with dried seaweed threads or dried seaweed flakes.
Some people like to add salt last minute when cooking mushrooms, that way the mushrooms won't shrivel too much. It's completely up to you. The amount of salt used here were so little, looking at these images you'll see that the mushrooms are still "plump" in some way. Moreover, by drawing out some moisture early on and just let these mushrooms cook in their own juice create another kind of deliciousness. Give it a try and you'll see.
Other recipe using mentaiko -
It's interesting that shio koji, such pale colored ingredients can transform into something brownish and delicious looking coating with just a simple sear. To enhance the flavor, I also added soy sauce to the marinade, turning the chicken into a rice-killing bento/lunchbox dish.
Shio koji marinated chicken with simply cabbage stir-fry -
Ingredients?
- 75 grams deboned, skin-attached chicken thigh
- 1/2 small cabbage
- 1/3 cup green peas
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red chili
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Some salt
Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons shio koji
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
How?
Mix all the ingredients under the "marinade" section. Cut the chicken into large bite size pieces and massage the meat with the marinade. Cover with lid or cling foil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Destem and slice the chili diagonally. Tear the cabbage into large bite size pieces.
Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and turn to medium heat. Add in garlic slices, chili slices, and small pinch of salt. Sear till aromatic but not burning the garlic. Turn to high heat and transfer the cabbage over. Give it a quick stir and cook till the cabbage reaches desired texture. Once ready, plate the cabbage.
Meanwhile, blanch the peas and drain out the liquid.
Use the same pan to cook the chicken. Remember to remove the rice grains before searing, otherwise they can get burnt easily under high heat. Use the remaining oil in the pan and turn to medium heat. Sear the chicken with skin side down first till browned and slightly brunt on the edges. Flip the meat and sear the other side till fully cooked through.
Move around the chicken pieces from time to time to prevent over-burning spots. Cover the pan with a lid if needed, it will lock in the heat while speed up the cooking process.
Transfer seared chicken onto the cabbage, then garnish with blanched peas.
During the searing process, you might find that the chicken still looks pretty pale in the beginning, but once it gets hot enough, the chicken turns brown fairly quickly.
Look at that dark coating on the chicken, doesn't that make you drool a little?
Other recipe using shio koji:
