Roasted Maitake Mushrooms In Smoky Tea Broth – Recipe
Roasted Maitake Mushroom In Smoky Tea Broth
I’ve been traveling this week, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to share one of my favorite recipes from the Herbivoracious cookbook. I saw some beautiful maitake mushrooms at Pike Place Market recently, so this should be a good time of year to seek them out and try this soup.
Maitakes, also known as hen-of-the-woods (not to be confused with chicken-of-the-woods, which is completely different!), are a wild mushroom well worth seeking out at farmers’ markets or gourmet grocers. Maitakes are rather expensive, and their dramatic ruffled appearance and rich flavor are unusual, so when I use them, I like to make them the focus of a dish.
If you have never had lapsang souchong tea, you are in for a treat. It is intensely smoky, unlike any other tea I’ve had. That smokiness makes it a perfect broth base to show off the earthiness of roasted maitakes.
You could cut the maitake up into bite-sized pieces, but this dish is more dramatic when the mushroom is served in larger pieces—which also keeps it from getting soggy. Give guests a knife so they can cut the maitake at the last moment.
- 1/2 cup finely diced bok choy stems
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 pound fresh maitake mushroom(s)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons lapsang souchong tea
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- Toasted sesame oil
- Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
- 2 teaspoons finely sliced scallion, white and light green parts only
- Preheat the oven to 450°F using convection, or 475°F without convection. Warm four shallow soup bowls.
- Place the bok choy in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon water and microwave on High for 1 minute. (Alternatively, you can steam the bok choy or blanch it in boiling water.) Reserve.
- Divide the mushroom into 4 portions (leaving the pieces as large as possible) and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with the vegetable oil, coating the mushroom as evenly as possible, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Roast until fragrant, starting to brown, and becoming tender, about 20 minutes.
- While the mushroom is roasting, place the lapsang souchong tea in a small, heatproof bowl and cover with the boiling water; allow to steep 5 minutes. Strain. Add the tamari. Taste and season with a bit of salt if needed. The broth should be smoky and mildly salty, with a distinct note of soy.
- When the mushrooms are ready, place one portion in each bowl. Place the bok choy dice around the maitake. Reheat the tea in the microwave and divide among the 4 bowls. Garnish each bowl with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, a pinch of flaky sea salt, and the scallions. Serve piping hot.
That looks fantastic. I think you may love mushrooms as much as I do! I love to brush a maitake with garlic butter and pop it in a hot oven to crisp up the edges and serve it on a cheese plate.
Microwave? Really? For such a gourmet dish?!
Microwaves are awesome, if used for the right things. They work by vibrating water molecules in your food. So for situations where you want to quickly soften something like the bok choy in this dish, or melt chocolate or butter, they are great. Like any other tool, it is all about how you use it. More discussion in the comments here: https://herbivoracious.com/2010/01/brussels-sprout-gratin-with-heretical-technique-recipe.html
Thank you for the link. I guess it is the matter of personal preference. Nice to know that Paule Bocuse shares my taste in cooking 🙂
Thank you for inspiring recipes and entertaining stories.
This looks just beautiful!
Wild mushrooms are almost unheard of at my farmers’ market though; I’m thinking slabs of roasted king oyster mushrooms and some rice would make a tasty adaptation (kind of a riff on ochazuke).
I like the idea of doing it with rice if you can’t get the maitake. A bit of a different dish but I think it would be delicious. You could even grill the king oysters to get some char and add more flavor.
I’ve never seen this kind of mushroom before – it looks intriguing!
I am Danish, and we use celcius. 90 % of the times I read fahrenheit, I read celcius and it is first when I stand in front of the oven I say to myself “450 degrees?! Waaaait second!”. It all went fine, and even though it didn’t look as good as yours, it tasted great!
Ha, well, it would be *really* well roasted :)!
At last, someone else who appreciates how great a food accompaniment tea is! I use it all the time to add depth and nuances to dishes, whether green tea or black! And with mushrooms – divine! Even Tetsuya, one of Australia’s leading chefs, makes a tea broth that has chopped tomatoes warmed in black tea then strained and used as a broth base for fish.
Thanks for the great recipe.