food comas

I have seen fresh enoki mushrooms at the store many times, and on an impulse, I decided to buy a package, even though I had no idea what to do with them at first.  Called enokitake in Japanese, these long, thin white mushrooms are commonly found in East Asian cuisines (Japan, China, Korea), particularly in soups or salads.  They have a lovely crisp texture and apparently are a good source of protein that can help regulate your immune system.

I came across this recipe for Steamed Tofu with Enoki and Beech Mushrooms from Table for 2… or more and I thought it sounded delicious(ly simple).  I couldn’t find beech mushrooms but I have used unidentified brown ones from Chinatown, as well as white button mushrooms.  If you are a mushroom lover like me, anything will taste great with this.  This dish is very simple with elegant subtle flavors… which to some may translate to plain… however, I decided to make this dish as a complement to the intense sweet and salty flavors of Miso Marinated Salmon and I thought it made a great overall meal!

The second time I made this dish, I combined elements from another recipe called Silken Tofu Topped with Enoki Mushrooms.  I was making my Miso Marinated Salmon again and noticed this tofu mushroom recipe called for the enoki mushrooms to be sautéed with dashi, sake, mirin, soy sauce — basically the same ingredients used to marinate the fish.  Thus, I figured it would be easy to do both recipes.  Basically, I did the steamed version using one package of enoki mushrooms and then sautéed the second package of enoki mushrooms to top the entire dish with and add more flavor.  So feel free to try either one of these recipes as both are super simple, or combine it like I did!

Steamed Tofu with Enoki Mushrooms (adapted from Table for 2… or more and tastespace)

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 14oz block silken tofu, largely cubed
• 2 10oz package enoki mushrooms
• 1 C mushrooms (beech, white button, anything)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 T sake
• 1 T miso paste
• 1 tsp mirin
• 2 T light soy sauce
• 2 shallots, sliced and fried until crisp in 3 T cooking oil
• 1 stalk green onion, sliced

Directions:

Arrange the silken tofu cubes on a steaming dish.

Top with 1 package of enoki mushrooms and 1 C of (other) mushrooms — it will be a large mound but don’t worry as it will shrink a lot.

Steam on high heat for 7-10 minutes until the mushrooms are wilted.

Pour liquid away from the dish.

To finish off the steamed version: top with fried shallots and the oil they were fried in, drizzle light soy sauce all around the dish.  Garnish with green onion slices.

OR if you want to add more flavor, follow these directions to sauté the other package of enoki mushrooms.

Heat 2 T of cooking oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the second package of enoki mushrooms and stir until lightly browned and fragrant.

Sprinkle with the salt and then add the sake and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits.  The mushrooms will wilt slightly.  Add the miso paste, soy sauce and mirin and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Pour the mushroom mixture over the steamed tofu and mushrooms.  Garnish with fried shallots and green onion slices.

Try serving with Miso Marinated Salmon!