King Mushrooms with Ginger -- A dish fit for a king

Actually, I have no idea if Martin Luther had any use for mushrooms or not. But, if you like 'em, this dish will knock your socks off.

If you live in Toronto, there's a really great Asian food store called T&T. I've only been to the location on Cherry Street, so I can't speak to the other locations. I do know the market is owned by Loblaws, which isn't owned by Big Tobacco or Big Pharma. They cater primarily to the Chinese community, although they sell some Japanese and Korean staples like nori and kimchee. They also sell prepared foods which are ostensibly sans msg. Unfortunately, a lot of their produce comes all the way from China (or Mexico), especially in the winter. However, you can sometimes get locally grown 'Chinese' green  vegetables.

I was quite excited to find they carry a line of mushrooms  all grown in Burlington, called 'Enviro-Mushrooms'. Although the Enviro-Mushroom folks do not have their organic accreditation, they very strictly use no pesticides, no chemicals, and no irradiation.

I chose some king mushrooms. I'll confess they were already cleaned and sliced, and that appealed to me, because sometimes the prep takes the longest when cooking.

I sauteed these babies up, and couldn't believe how fantastically delicious they are. Suddenly, they are my favourite mushroom. Even my husband thought they were delicious, and he hates mushrooms.


ingredients:

1 package (284 g) of sliced king mushrooms
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper
freshly grated ginger to taste

directions:

1. heat the coconut oil in a large pan until melted over low heat
2. add the mushrooms, and toss in the oil until well coated
3. add the sea salt and black pepper
4. cook the mushrooms until pleasingly browned in places
5. add the ginger, and toss well until evenly distributed
6. divide onto plates and eat with many happy grunts of pleasure

I think this would make a lovely soup -- perhaps with some cashews ground up to act as a cream soup. I'll try it and let you know.

Otherwise, this can act as a side dish, as a topping for pasta -- toss the noodles with the cooked mushrooms in the pan until well combined -- although you might have to increase the seasoning for that, or just stand on it's own, perhaps with a heel of freshly baked bread. Yum.