If you’re not familiar with maitake mushrooms, now may be a really good time to try them. When cooked properly, these mushrooms give off a distinctly earthy, peppery flavor, especially when you use savory and salty ingredients to balance them out.
In this article, we’ll show you different ways to cook maitake mushrooms to achieve a delicious quality. Make sure to pay attention to all the tips and guidelines we’ve outlined in this article for the best possible results.
Maitake Mushrooms Nutrition Facts
Tips for Cooking Maitake Mushrooms
We have outlined a number of helpful tips below to get the best results when cooking maitake mushrooms:
Get fresh mushrooms – Fresh maitake mushrooms provide the nicest flavor. If at all possible, buy your mushrooms just before you intend to prepare them to ensure that they are as delectable as possible. Maitake mushrooms can be found fresh in most stores, so keep an eye out for good ones.
Preparing the mushrooms – Maitake mushrooms, unlike capped mushrooms, have a thin and feathery quality, and they are mostly found in clumps. Instead of slicing or chopping the mushrooms into smaller pieces, pull them apart with your hand to make cooking and working with them easier.
Also, it’s important to wash your mushrooms before cooking them. To do this, fill a bowl halfway with water and add a pinch of salt. Before you begin cooking, soak your mushrooms in water for some minutes, then towel dries them.
A black liquid may be present on some of your mushrooms. This is known as polyphenol, and it’s perfectly safe and beneficial to your health. If however, you don’t like the taste of this liquid, allow your mushrooms to boil for a few minutes to get rid of it.
Different cooking methods to try – Maitake mushrooms can be cooked in quite a number of ways to achieve delicious results. Mushrooms that have been seared or stir-fried are excellent additions to your main course, and roasted maitake mushrooms on the other hand can make quite a wonderful side dish.
Below we have described some of the methods through which maitake mushrooms can be cooked for delicious results:
Searing Maitake Mushrooms
Ingredients
- These will suffice for 4 servings
- 2 tablespoons and ½ cup of olive oil
- Two 8-oz maitake mushrooms
Directions
- In a small bowl, combine 2 finely sliced garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. You’ll need this mixture in a few minutes, so set it aside.
- To cook all your mushrooms at once, pour ¼ cup of olive oil into the bottoms of two skillets. Place the mushrooms flat on the skillets and season with salt and pepper while they cook, pushing them down against the skillet with a spatula.
- If you’re not using two skillets at once and don’t want to use oil, sauté the mushrooms one at a time inside one skillet.
- Make sure to watch your mushrooms closely while they cook. They’ll be golden and crispy after around 3 minutes, which means they’re ready to flip. Flip all the mushroom pieces using a spatula, then cook them for another 3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat in your skillet to a very low setting. After that, drizzle the mixture of garlic and olive oil you combined previously over the mushrooms in both of the skillets. With a spatula, shift and toss the mushrooms until the chopped garlic turns golden. You may now savor your seared mushrooms.
Roasting Maitake Mushrooms in the Oven
Ingredients: This should make 2 to 3 servings
- 4 cups of maitake mushrooms
- 5 sprigs of thyme, minced
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (149 degrees Celsius). To make maitake mushrooms golden and crispy, you don’t need a lot of heat. Leave your oven to heat up while you prepare the mushrooms so you can toss them into the olive oil right away.
- In a large mixing bowl, place 4 cups of maitake mushrooms. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the mushroom pieces, together with 5 chopped thyme sprigs. Toss the mushrooms and season them with your hands until they’re evenly coated.
- After you’ve laid your mushrooms out on a baking sheet, you may also choose to drizzle them with oil (optional step).
- Arrange the seasoned mushrooms on the cooking sheet in a thin, single layer. This will ensure that all the mushrooms are uniformly roasted. If you can’t afford to put all your mushrooms on the same tray, that’s fine. It’s always possible to roast them in portions!
- Set at least 50 minutes on the timer after sliding the tray into the oven. Constantly check on the mushrooms; they’ll be ready to remove from the oven once they’ve turned golden brown.
- Along the outside of the mushrooms, you want them to look beautiful and crispy.
- Remove the tray from the oven. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over the mushrooms while they’re still heated. You may now savor your crisp, sizzling mushrooms!
Whatever method you choose to use in cooking your maitake mushrooms, the results will turn out delicious. Just make sure to follow all the right cooking instructions.
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Cooking Time for Maitake Mushrooms
Keep the following timing guidelines in mind when cooking maitake mushrooms:
| Cooking procedure | Cooking time |
| Sauteing maitake mushrooms | 4 minutes |
| Searing maitake mushrooms | 6 minutes |
| Roasting maitake mushrooms in the oven | 50 minutes |
Sauteed Maitake Mushrooms (4 Servings)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of maitake mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (standard, not toasted)
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon of kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon of Sriracha (or ¼ teaspoon of rice vinegar)
For the garnish:
- chopped chives or sliced green onions (optional)
Instructions
- Clean the mushrooms by rinsing them and patting them dry. Pull them apart into 3-inch pieces with your fingers. The garlic should be minced.
- Heat the sesame oil in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté for about 2 minutes after adding the mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute on the opposite side after flipping the mushrooms.
- Cook for 30 seconds, or until the garlic is mellow and aromatic. Stir in the Sriracha, soy sauce, and salt, and simmer for another minute, or until the vegetables are tender. Turn off the heat. Serve with soba noodles or as a side topped with cut chives or green onion tops.
This maitake mushroom recipe yields delicious results, and it’s a recipe that you should definitely try. When you follow the right cooking instructions, you can be assured of the best possible results.
If you’d like to see more ideas for cooking maitake mushrooms, we recommend that you check out this video recipe.