Skewered King Oyster Mushroom (새송이 산적)
skewered king oyster mushrooms (새송이 산적)
Skewered mushrooms king oyster mushrooms (세송이) are delicious and easy to make. It’s a versatile side dish which can be adapted to suit vegetarians and lends itself to experimentation.
the king oyster is quite a meaty mushroom
You will need:
1. Around 4 king oyster mushrooms
2. Half a pound of beef or pork (but I guess it could be prawns or chicken)
3. 4 table spoons of soy sauce
4. 2 tablespoons of sugar
5. a couple of chopped spring onions
6. chopped garlic
7. sesame salt (or salt and some toasted sesame seeds)
8. black pepper
9. Skewers
wooden skewers (산적코지)
METHOD
1. Boil the mushrooms for a minute and then slice lengthwise about an eight of an inch thick.
2. Slice the meat the same way
3. Make a marinade of all the remaining ingredients and let mushrooms and meat stand in this for 2 hours.
4. Skewer meat and mushrooms alternately and broil them.
meat and marinade – add the mushrooms
skewered and ready to broil
© 林東哲 2011 Creative Commons Licence.
Monday Market – King Oyster Mushroom – 새송이 버섯
oyster mushrooms growing wild – difficult to find, easy to cultivate
In Britain, we tend to have both mushrooms and toadstools. ‘Toadstools’ is a term, though not exclusive in its use, to describe those cap bearing ‘mushrooms’ which are inedible or poisonous. Unfortunately, many toadstools are indeed edible and there are a number of examples I am competent enough to pick and eat. One of my favourites, which grows and is eaten in Korea, is the parasol mushroom (갓 버섯 – lepioptera procera). In England, this wonderful mushroom is prolific but few people pick it and it is unavailable in shops.
young parasol mushroom – unmistakable
Koreans, like many other European countries, are much more adventurous in their culinary and medicinal use of fungi and a wide range of exotic mushrooms are available. The king oyster mushroom (새송이 버섯 – pleurotus eryngii) is common in markets and supermarkets and is also known in Britain as the king trumpet mushroom or French horn mushroom. In Korea it is a common ingredient in stews and a favourite skewered between meat and onion. Though not particularly flavoursome, when cooked it has a meaty, abalone-like texture. Though difficult to find, as they often grow under forest ‘debris,’ they are easy to cultivate.
an oyster mushroom farm
Baby oysters are excellent in soups and stew and freeze easily
Korea is one of the leading producers of the king oyster mushroom and grown in temperature controlled environments with air cleaning, water de-ionizing and automated systems, farming is high-tech. One of the most successful producers is Kim Geum-hee who now owns six high-tech farms producing over 5 tons of mushroom daily.
Kim Geum-hee a pioneer in the art of mushroom farming
Kim Geum-hee is an adorable character and one of Korea’s outstanding agriculturalists. I fell in love with her personality after just one video partly because the added translations are a little ‘studenty’ but ironically enhance the videos imbuing them with an enchanting cuteness.
meaty
“Photo by Catie Baumer Schwalb, pitchforkdiaries.com, used with permission.”
The videos about her success are interesting and well worth watching. ‘Kim Geum-hee ‘had a dream about mushroom,’ and later, ‘after graduating fell in love with mushroom.’ Oh, dear, I have bad thoughts. When I see a room full of cap-type mushrooms I can’t help being reminded of penises. I’m sure many other westerners would have the same response and besides, the stinkhorn’s botanical name is phallus impudicus and before it was biological classified it was known as, ‘fungus virilis penis effige‘ ( Gerard, 1597). It’s not just me! You can poke a Korean in the eye with even the most phallic of fungi, of which there are a number of amazing varieties, and not the slightest link will be made to a penis. To Koreans that offensive fungi is simply a mushroom!
There are some excellent ways to use the king oyster mushroom:
© 林東哲 2011 Creative Commons Licence.
Elwood 5566 
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