mushroom nuggs
nugg, hehehehhehehee.
Servings: 2
Time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients
4 oz “bundled” mushrooms (see Try experimenting with for what I mean by “bundled”)
3 tbsp Cornstarch
Salt, Garlic powder, black pepper,
2 tbsp Oil (any works, i.e., canola, grapeseed, avocado, olive, etc.)
flaky salt (optional)
Recipe:
1.Wash and pat dry mushrooms. Cut off larger root, and separate mushrooms into smaller bundles. Add 2 shakes or cranks of salt and 2 shakes of garlic powder. Toss and coat in generous 3 tbsp cornstarch.
It is okay if some of the mushrooms breaks off into smaller pieces. Smaller, broken pieces will make for crispy bits.
Mushrooms should be evenly and heavily coated. If not, add more cornstarch. There should be extra cornstarch at the bottom of the bowl.
2. Heat oil on pan on medium heat. Once glossy, add mushrooms (AND THE EXTRA CORNSTARCH AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOWL!). Lower heat to medium-low. This method is a shallow fry. Do not touch for 7 minutes.
The extra cornstarch will turn into extra crispy bits. Trust me–this is the best part.
3. Flip one mushroom. If crispy and golden brown, flip the rest. (If you can still see pale cornstarch soaked oil, wait another 2-3 minutes.) Cook the other side for 7 minutes.
Depending on the shape of your bundles, you might have to cook a third side.
4. Once all sides are golden, turn off heat and remove pan from hot burner. Optional: immediately sprinkle flaky salt on mushrooms. Let mushrooms sit on pan until ready to serve.
Do not remove mushrooms from pan. The residual heat will make sure the nuggets remain crispy.
Voila shrooms! Serve immediately with rice, on top of salad, on toast, as dippers, with noodles–possibilities are endless!
Non-negotiables
Cornstarch - water, crispy
Garlic powder - Just make life easier on yourself, lol.
Try experimenting with
Mushrooms - I’m going to recommend that you use some fun, Asian, “bundled” mushrooms: king trumpet, oyster, maitake, shimeji, etc. What do I mean by “bundled?” “Bundled” mushrooms are mushrooms whose stalks are connected at the base. The bundle is key for achieving a nugget shape. For example, crimini or shiitake are normally packaged in which each mushroom is separated at its stalk. (However, I’ve tried this method with crimini mushrooms, and it is still delicious—just not nugg shaped).
Food styling tips
See recipe development tests for examples.
Flaky salt - flaky salt will add another dimension of texture.
Time for a close up – take a macro shot to appreciate the golden crevices.
Natural light – natural sunlight enhances the golden color.
Recipe Development
Sifted approached me to guest edit an edition of their newsletter, and I decided to write about my new year’s cooking goals. Read more here. One of my new years’ cooking goals is to make recipe development more casual: that is, I want to share with you more of my everyday hyperfixations and daily discoveries. And so, I bring you–mushroom nuggs.
Test #1— I first experimented with cornstarch and mushrooms in early December. My friends and I have started to casual suppers where the unspokenly agreed upon theme is always Asian food. For one supper, I made a Thai Tofu and Mushroom Krapow. I used a bag of frozen shiitakes. The frozen mushrooms leeched a considerable amount of water that I had to pour off. They did crispy up eventually though…affter maybe 30 minutes…
What I did right – The excess cornstarch created these wonderful crispy bits.
Needs improvement – Don’t use frozen mushrooms.
Test #2 — When I arrived home for break in the middle of December, I opened my family fridge to a carton of crimini mushrooms and a deep Califonian urge to make myself a salad.
What I did right – using fresh mushrooms. Crispy mushrooms on a salad created a wonderful texture
Needs improvement - mushrooms quickly got soft after removing from heat and letting rest of paper towel to soak up excess oil.
Test #3 — While on break, I went to H Mart and cried because the prices were so much cheaper compared to NYC. H Mart should not be speciality market prices: it should be bargain market prices. I bought some shiimeji mushrooms.
What I did right – Frying bundles of mushrooms created the appearance of nuggets.
Needs improvement – I might have had the heat too high. The mushrooms quickly gift soft while I took pictures of my food.
mushroom nuggs alongside an assortment of Korean mountain vegetable barchan
Test #4 — I had again the Californian urge for a salad.
What I did right – I let the mushroom rest on the pan while I tossed the rest of my salad ingredients together. And voila–letting the mushrooms sit on residual heat with their residual oil maintained their crispiness.
If you decide to test these nuggs, please tag me @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!
