Spicy Enoki Mushrooms

Enoki mushrooms are mild and delicate. I liken this Spicy Enoki Mushroom dish to a bowl of comforting spicy noodles. Loaded with Asian flavors, it's a fantastic side, and can easily become a main course if you serve it over rice and add a protein to it.

Enoki mushrooms, originally from Japan, are most commonly found in soups, stews and stir-fries. I love adding them to my Sheet Pan Tofu that has a vegetable stir fry topping. And I often add them raw to salads. Any which way, they're a treat.

Excellent raw or cooked, I love them so much that I often serve them on their own, and this spicy version is my favorite way to do it.

While they don't need to be cooked, sautéing them quickly over high heat in this recipe caramelizes them, and it also makes them a bit crispy.

This is not an authentic Asian dish (that I know of), but I do know it's off the charts delicious!

Jump to:

• The Ingredients
• How to Make it
• Recipe Tips
• Variations
• Serving Suggestions
• Can you make it ahead?
• More Must-Try Mushrooms Recipes
• Spicy Enoki Mushrooms Recipe

The Ingredients

• Enoki mushrooms - Mild and delicate with a very subtle sweet, nut-like flavor, Enokis are long thin white mushrooms with cute little rounded caps. (Yep, cute.) They're attached at a common root base, and they're sold in little bundles that are a few ounces each, usually in a plastic wrapping of some sort. Available year-round, you can find Enoki mushrooms in just about any Asian market and in most large grocery stores.

• toasted sesame oil - Regular sesame oil is okay, but toasted sesame oil adds a deeper flavor.
• chili paste - Sambal Oelek is my favorite. Gochujang and Sriracha are both good substitutes for chili paste. I would use these to taste because their levels of heat will vary.
• Mirin - This is a sweet rice wine and you should be able to find it in any Asian market and often in larger grocery stores. Since it's sweet, it balances the heat form the chili paste giving an overall sweet and spicy vibe to the sauce. Good substitutes for Mirin include sake, apple juice and rice vinegar.
• fresh ginger - This adds a warm spicy flavor. Choose fresh ginger roots that are firm and feel heavy for their size.
• fresh garlic - Look for firm heads of garlic without soft spots or green shoots, which are an indication it's old and likely bitter. (Pro tip: if there are green shoots in your garlic cloves, slice them in half, lengthwise, and remove the green root with the tip of a knife. The rest of the clove should still be good.)
• green onions (scallions) - Added as a garnish at the end, the onions add a fresh bright element, with a subtle crunch. Select firm scallions that are bright green on top with creamy white bottoms. You can substitute the green onions with finely chopped chives or cilantro.
• toasted sesame seeds - A second garnish if desired.

(See recipe card for quantities.)

How to Make it

- Place the mushrooms in a small colander and with gentle pressure, rinse them with cold water. Delicately move them around to be sure that any dirt between the mushrooms is released. (You can also fill a mixing bowl with cold water, submerge them, and gently move them around.) Drain and dry them on cloth kitchen towels. Set aside.

- Cut about an inch or so off of the root ends of the Enoki clusters. You can do this before or after you wash them.

- In a small bowl, mix the sesame oil with the Mirin, chili paste and ginger.

- Add about half of the sauce mixture to a large sauté pan and swirl it around to coat the bottom. Place it over high heat and once it's very hot and the sauce is sizzling a bit, add the mushrooms. You should hear a sizzling sound when they hit the pan. If you don’t, it's not hot enough yet.

- Sauté for just a couple of minutes and then use a spatula or tongs to flip them over. Some will still be white and some will be golden brown.

- Once you brown the other side, add the remaining sauce and gently mix. (The total cooking time should not exceed 5 minutes.)

- Garnish and serve. Add the mushrooms to a serving plate or bowl and top with finely chopped green onion and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

Recipe Tips

• Even after you cut off the root end of the clustered mushrooms, many will stay conjoined. You can separate them if you'd like to, but it's not necessary.
• Be sure the pan is very hot when the mushrooms are added. Otherwise, they won't brown.
• We're only sautéing the mushrooms briefly -- a couple of minutes per side over high heat. This will crisp them a bit. If you cook them too long, they'll become chewy, so be careful.
• You might want to double the spicy sauce ingredients so you have extra for adding to other things. (It's really good with all sorts of proteins like chicken, fish, steak, pork and tofu.)

Variations

• Mild version. While we are making Spicy Enoki Mushroom recipe, you can certainly dial down the heat. Use less chili paste and/or less ginger. You can also simply sauté the mushrooms in sesame oil and add a couple of tablespoons (or the desired amount) of soy sauce or oyster sauce.
• Make it a main course. You can treat the mushrooms like thin noodles and add tofu, shredded chicken or sautéd shrimp. You can also add vegetables like grated carrots, sliced red pepper, bok choy or finely chopped broccoli. Serve it over rice and it's a hearty meal.
• Using other mushrooms. Of course this recipe is all about Enoki mushrooms, but it just so happens that the sauce will make any sautéed mushrooms incredibly tasty. Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms would be my first choices after the Enokis.

Serving Suggestions

• As a side dish, the spicy Enoki mushrooms are fabulous with Asian Pear Marinated Steak, Pork Tenderloin with Coffee Rub, Miso Broiled Black Cod wtih Bok Choy or Roasted Pork Belly.
• And you can round the meal out with an additional side of Coconut Cilantro Rice or Miso Fried Rice.
• For a vegetarian or vegan meal, the mushrooms are delicious served with Miso Glazed Eggplant, Miso Garlic-Ginger Tofu or Honey Glazed Tofu Broccoli with Sriracha.

Can you make it ahead?

Ideally, this dish should be served right out of the pan. This works out well since it's an easy recipe that only takes about 15 minutes to make.

However, it's still quite good if it's made a day ahead. Don't add the green onions and keep it in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. When you're ready to serve the next day, warm it in the microwave or gently in a pan on the stove and add the onions.

More Must-Try Mushrooms Recipes

• Vegetarian Sushi Bake with Mushrooms
• Marinated Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
• Creamy Vegan Mushroom Sauce
• Sherry Mushrooms Recipe
• Cream of Mushroom Wild Rice Soup
• Savory Polenta Cake with Mushrooms

These are the best Spicy Enoki Mushrooms ever, and I hope you love them as much as my family and I do!