Regardless of the identify, oyster mushrooms don’t have anything to do with mollusks or the ocean. You’re really almost definitely to search out one within the wild in the event you’re strolling by means of one of many world’s temperate or subtropical forests. But when that’s slightly out of attain, you can even simply discover them in grocery shops.
Oyster mushrooms are nutritious, versatile, and infrequently hailed by vegans for his or her meaty texture. However how do you prepare dinner with them? And what plant-based recipes do they work greatest in? Don’t fear, we’ve received you lined. However first, let’s take a more in-depth take a look at what oyster mushrooms really are.
What are oyster mushrooms?
Oyster mushrooms (or, in the event you’re sciencey, Pleurotus ostreatus) are extremely widespread. They’re a kind of fungi that grows naturally on timber, however they’re additionally cultivated in lots of nations for industrial functions. They earned the identify “oyster mushroom,” due to their form, which is analogous to an oyster shell. They arrive in many alternative colours and varieties, however the king oyster mushroom, which has a thick meaty stem, is the most important.
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The world’s prime producer of oyster mushrooms is China, which is answerable for greater than 85 % of the market. However they’re additionally produced in a number of different nations, like Japan, Italy, and Thailand.
What do oyster mushrooms style like?
With a clean, meaty texture, oyster mushrooms have a barely earthy style to them, with a touch of anise. However some additionally say they style type of like seafood—which makes their identify much more apt. “Oyster mushrooms are sometimes described as ‘briny’ or having a fragile seafood taste,” notes the Mushroom Council. “Their texture is velvety and dense, and when pan seared, their edges flip deliciously crisp.”
Oyster mushroom vitamin
Oyster mushrooms aren’t simply tasty, like most edible forms of fungi, they’re additionally good on your well being. They’re a supply of protein and carbohydrates, they usually additionally comprise fiber, vitamin B5, niacin, folate, potassium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, and choline. Plus, they’re additionally a superb supply of antioxidants. These are plant molecules that assist scale back mobile injury brought on by free radicals within the physique.
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In China, oyster mushrooms have been famend for his or her potential well being advantages for hundreds of years. “The pink oyster mushroom and different mushrooms of the genus Pleurotus have been prized for hundreds of years for his or her dietary worth and scrumptious style,” notes Hifas da Terra, a biotechnology firm targeted on mycology. “In Conventional Chinese language Medication (TCM), oyster mushrooms are prescribed for ‘leisure of muscle tissue, joints, and tendons, to strengthen circulation and to extend kidney perform.’”
Learn how to prepare dinner with oyster mushrooms
There are a number of other ways to prepare dinner oyster mushrooms. You’ll be able to roast or bake them or you possibly can boil them in salted water. However the most effective, and hottest methods, to prepare dinner oyster mushrooms (and get that scrumptious crispy texture) is to pan-fry them over excessive warmth.
Vegan oyster mushroom recipes
Need to be taught extra about learn how to prepare dinner with oyster mushrooms? You’ve come to the appropriate place! Listed below are a number of the greatest, and tastiest, vegan oyster mushroom recipes.
Lauren Toyota
1 Oyster Mushroom Po’Boy
A Louisiana basic, po’ boy sandwiches are often stacked with salad and a few type of meaty filling, like roast beef. However seafood is one other well-liked alternative. Nevertheless, you may get the identical deliciously satisfying style and texture by swapping in crispy oyster mushrooms. For further mouthwatering taste, drizzle over some do-it-yourself Thousand Island dressing.
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Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer
2 Tangy Grilled King Oyster Mushroom Skewers
Enhance the flavour of your king oyster mushrooms by marinating them in tangy balsamic vinegar, which is blended with garlic and thyme, in addition to some oil and slightly salt. After that, they’re able to be skewered onto bamboo and cooked over the grill. That is the final word recipe for vegan barbecue season.
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Jeeca Uy
3Korean Bulgogi Mushrooms
Once more, this recipe is an absolute should for the barbecue. Bulgogi (which accurately means ‘hearth meat’ in Korean) often refers to marinated beef, which is grilled over a barbecue. However beef is completely not a necessity on the subject of cooking this conventional dish, as mushrooms work simply as effectively. Simply be sure to make sufficient, as your family members are assured to be asking you for extra.
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Alejandra Graf
4 Mexican Pozole
Pozole often refers to a spicy Mexican soup that options hominy and pork meat (generally it’s made with rooster, too). However due to the meaty texture of oyster mushrooms, you may get the identical deliciously fiery style and expertise, with none animal merchandise by any means.
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Martin Nordon
5 Miso Soup With King Oyster Mushrooms
If it’s chilly and drizzly exterior, a pleasant warming bowl of miso soup is simply what you want. And, for an additional enhance of vitamin, in addition to texture and taste, improve the usual recipe with oyster mushrooms, quinoa, and seaweed.
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Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Urquiza
6 Vegan Poc Chuc With Mushrooms
Poc chuc is a meaty flavorful dish that hails from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Once more, it’s historically made with pork, which is marinated in citrus juice, grilled, after which served with pickled onions and rice. However if you wish to skip the meaty half, substitute in portobello or king oyster mushrooms (or each) as a substitute.
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and author based mostly in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.
