Slender sautéed beech mushrooms (white or brown) are marinated in a spicy mix of sesame, fresh herbs, aromatics, Aleppo pepper flakes and a dry spice mix that brings it altogether with a familiar Asian flair.
make optional Asian spice blend: 10 mins
prep: 20 mins
cook: 5 mins
total: 25 mins
I’m on a roll cooking with mushrooms of all types and with all that time and focus on fungi, I was reminded of the funny dish called marinated mushrooms. While I love the idea of how the mushrooms become juicy and tangy, they need a major upgrade from that bottled Italian dressing flavor, and I’m here for it. Using brown beech mushrooms gives the dish a more delicate flavor and texture, and creating a spicy Asian marinade makes this recipe a great accompaniment to other Asian dishes, such as cold sesame noodles, and frankly, knocks it out of the park, for marinated mushrooms, just saying.
Beech Mushrooms
Brown beech mushrooms are shown above, but they can be white as well. Their botanical name is Hypsizygus tessulatus, and are also cultivated in Japan and called Shimeji. Cooking beech mushrooms is recommended for better flavor and digestion, and they have a pleasantly nutty flavor and crunchy texture even after quickly sautéing.
Why this recipe works
- A quick saute to cook the beech mushrooms improves their digestibility, and then they are simply placed in the marinade.
- The marinade is full of fresh ingredients like fresh basil and cilantro, minced ginger root and garlic. Multiple dry spices bring a familiar, slightly sweet, spicy Asian flavor, and sesame oil as well as sesame seeds add so much flavor.
- The marinade is so delicious and fresh it is a nice change from typical marinated mushroom Italian dressings.
Above: the clump of beech mushrooms you choose at the market is called a “bouquet”.
Ingredient notes
- Beech mushrooms are thin and delicate, which makes for a less spongy, and nicely textured marinated mushroom.
- The mushrooms are perfectly sized to be left whole in the marinade, with their slender stems and tiny mushroom caps.
- Asian spices– the recipe includes a specific mix of dry spices I’ve concocted to lend familiar, easy to take Asian flavors. You can mix a batch of my Homemade Asian Spice Blend , so you have it on hand for stir fries and other dishes, such as my Tempeh Tahini Noodles, my Bulgogi-Style Tofu and Mushrooms, or my Mongolian Shaved Beef and noodles recipe.
- Marinade- since the mushrooms are sautéed in oil first, there is very little oil in the marinade. It isn’t needed, other than the small amount of toasted sesame oil for flavor.
- See additional ingredient notes at the bottom of the recipe card.
Step-by-step instructions
The first step is to dust off any dirt particles from your beech mushrooms, and trim the bottom of the “bouquet” of mushrooms. Then separate the mushrooms into smaller clumps of 1-3 mushrooms to prepare them for sautéing.
Heat a skillet over medium heat with 2-3 teaspoons of a neutral oil, and add the mushrooms, turning here and there to fully saute and slightly brown them for about five minutes, then remove from heat and remove from pan.
Above: the bottom end of the bouquet of mushrooms is trimmed off and the mushrooms can then be easily separated before sautéing.
Next, it’s time to mix the marinade. Chop the fresh herbs, mince/grate the garlic and ginger and mix with the other marinade ingredients.
Above: at left are all the ingredients needed for the marinade, and at right is the marinade before the fresh chopped herbs are added. The fresh herbs are a key ingredient for the marinade so be sure to include them!
All that is left to do is to mix the sautéed beech mushrooms into the marinade, and let them marinate! They absorb the marinade quickly and you can eat them as soon as you want. They last for days in the fridge and only get better.
Tips for making and serving this recipe
- This is an easy recipe with a big impact. With it’s great spicy kick, sweet, savory flavors and the sesame and fresh herbs, it’s not your average marinated mushroom recipe.
- Serving- this dish stands on its own and as such, I recommend serving it as an appetizer for guests (plated elegantly as in the feature photo), giving it a surprise appearance on your next antipasto platter, mixing it in with your cold Asian noodle salad, or mixing into a salad with other veggies (stay tuned for that recipe coming up here soon). On a more casual note, make this recipe and set in the fridge for when your snack craving hits. It won’t disappoint.
- Cooking the mushrooms- I’ve read in several places that cooking the mushrooms is important to improve their digestibility and I rather like their flavor in the marinade after lightly sautéing.
- Storing- as mentioned, these mushrooms will last up to a week, marinating in the fridge and only getting tastier through the week.
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Spicy Sesame Marinated Beech Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 12-16 oz fresh brown beech mushrooms (sub white beech or any other type)
- 2-3 tsp neutral oil (i.e. avocado oil)
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper chili flakes (sub red pepper flakes or 1/4 tsp cayenne)
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
- 1 garlic clove grated/minced (med-large)
- 1 fresh ginger grated/minced (1/2-1" long piece)
Asian spices- use below or (optional: make batch of my Homemade Asian Spice Blend)
- 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar (see notes)
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch ground white pepper
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (white or black)
- 1/2 tsp ground mushroom powder (optional) (see notes)
Method:
- Trim the end of the clump(s) of the mushrooms and separate the mushrooms. Wipe away any dirt (any specs of dirt should mostly only be on the base that you cut off)
- Heat the neutral oil (use 2 tsps for 12 oz or less mushrooms, otherwise 3 tsps) on medium in saucepan, and sauté the mushrooms, just a couple minutes, tossing until lightly browned, remove from heat.
- Mix all the marinade ingredients, including the dry spices, and whisk together.
- Toss the mushrooms with the marinade and chill until serving. The marinated mushrooms taste great (even better) after 1-3 days and will last up to a week.
Notes
- Coconut Sugar: ok to use white sugar but light or dark brown sugar is too moist. Read the post about reasons to use this less common sugar.
- Aleppo chili flakes: ok to use red chili flakes. Aleppo flakes are a bit more fruity and less hot. Also, double the amount if you like a good amount of heat.
- Ground mushroom powder: I use dried shiitake. They are located with jarred garlic in the produce department at my grocery store. You can buy online as well. I filled the coffee grinder with about 4-5 to get 4+ tsps worth of powder. This ingredient is optional. It adds flavor but is not crucial.
