easy, quick-pickled mushrooms
the new pickle on the block that gets along with everyone (salads, toasts, noodles!)
soba noodle salad with sugar snap peas, edamame, pickled shiitakes, and a scallion-pumpkin seed relish (made with the pomegranate vinegar & ginger pickling brine!)
time: 10 minutes
base ingredients:
¼ cup vinegar
black peppercorns, red pepper flakes or other pepper of choice
4 oz mushrooms, whole or sliced*
*normally sold in increments of 4 oz in U.S. markets (3.5 oz, 8 oz, 12 oz, 16 oz) containers in U.S.
1-2 tsp sugar
*if you are using a sweeter vinegar (rice wine), then stick to 1 tsp. if you are using more tart, American vinegar (white/red wine, etc.) then stick to 2 tsp.
pinch of salt
room temp water
my favorite flavor concoctions:
generic:
cremini/baby bellas, white wine/red wine/apple cider/sherry vinegar, fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, dill, etc.), caraway seeds
asian-ish:
shiitake, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce (instead of salt), 1-inch knob of ginger (cut into matchsticks), gochugaru/sichuan peppercorn (see test #2)
recipe:
In a jar, prepare slice mushrooms and add-ins (e.g., ginger, fresh herbs, etc.)
Combine vinegar, pepper, sugar, salt in pot.
Heat pot on medium heat just until sugar and salt are dissolved.
Pour over slice mushrooms.
Top jar off with water so that mushrooms are submerged.
Wait at least until cool (~15 minutes) before consuming.
Voila—sour fungi!
After cooled, store in refrigerator. Keeps 1 week. Best enjoyed the next day after refrigeration.
non-negotiables:
Fresh mushrooms. I assume you could reconstitute dried mushrooms in the quick-pickling brine, but I have not tried. Dried mushrooms often feel much more meaty and tough to me, so I personally would not eat them raw.
try experimenting with your own flavor concoctions:
type of fresh mushrooms: I tested cremini (which I recently learned are the same as baby bellas) and shiitakes. White button would do fine, I’m sure. Someone try enoki please!
whole v. sliced mushrooms: sliced will pickle faster, but the mushroom’s white interior will be stained. whole will maintain the white interior of the mushroom (for aesthetics purposes).
vinegars: The possibilities are endless depending on what cuisine you are pickling for!
salt: For the asian-ish spin, you could sub soy sauce, fish sauce, or miso for salt. Smoked salt would be interesting, I can imagine…
add-ins: Experiment with peppers, fresh herbs, fresh roots (i.e., ginger, turmeric, etc.), pantry spices!
8 ways to eat quick-pickled mushrooms
other suggestions: over avocado toast! in a grain bowl! with rice noodle salad! in a “meaty” sandwich (think vegan reuben)!
recipe development:
Test #1: While flipping through Ottolenghi’s Plenty More (metaphorically flipping, of course, I only rent e-cookbooks from the library), I came across a soba noodle recipe with quick-pickled mushrooms. Unfortunately, I had to return the copy to the library before I had the chance to pick Otto’ mind.
I finally got around to pickling mushrooms when I found myself week-old mushrooms on the edge of _____ (found myself in a pickle, one might say). Like most of my first tests, I “throw whatever I have in the fridge/pantry together and voila vegetables.” The classic @everythingalexcooks method consists of zero measurements—all eyeballs. I was intrigued by the idea of pickled mushrooms: would the mushrooms turn out entirely soft and gummy? would they disinegrate? Mushrooms generally are soft, so I suspected the mushroom might not hold up to the acidity of pickling brine.
Notes: Out of all my tests, I think I liked the rice wine vinegar concoction the most. Rice wine vinegar is a sweeter vinegar. I tested out the pickled mushrooms in salads, sushirritos, and ramen—all delicious. Even after five days in the fridge, the mushrooms held up in the pickling brine. I’m so sorry I doubted you, mushrooms.
Test #2: I wasn’t planning to develop this recipe, but once again I found myself with mushrooms that about to go bad. Two-week-old, refrigerated shiitakes and creminis. This time, I decided to do two takes, and this time, remembering to measure ingredients: a more generic take and another asian take. I ran out of rice wine vinegar earlier in the week while teasing lots of miso tahini dressings. I ran down to my grandma’s, and after searching her pantries for any asian vinegar, I walked out with a cup of pomegranate drinking vinegar.
Notes: I had the mushrooms the night I made them, and they weren’t the best. I couldn’t tell if they were off due to the pomegranate vinegar or if they just didn’t have enough time to marinate in the brine for long enough. I packed a soba noodle salad with the mushrooms for lunch the next day, and once the mushrooms had at least overnight to marinate, they absorbed the right balance of sweetness and tang. The same day for dinner I had the asian-is mushrooms in a salad with fried tofu cakes (recipe to come). The next day, I tried the more generic take in a kale salad with chickpea smash. I’m continually amazing how unlike a lot of other pickled foods (which only work in a few dishes), these pickled mushrooms work in everything—the Range!
If you decide to test out quick-pickled mushrooms, please tag @everythingalexcooks (and I mean actually tag me, the new IG update doesn’t notify me when I simply get mentioned in a caption). I want to see your creations and hear your thoughts!
