Matsutake with Garlic and Ginger
When guest speaker Gerry Miller was here in December 1984, he exhibited great excitement when told that matsutake occurs in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
by Bo Letos
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Tricholoma murrillianum. © joe nudell (CC-BY-NC) (inaturalist.org, obs:196478327)
When asked how else he prepared them besides soups and broths, he gave a recipe for a simple and (here I can speak from personal experience) strongly addicting dish.
The effect is that your taste buds are assaulted by many flavors simultaneously — garlic, ginger, matsutake, sugar, and salt — all proclaim their presence at once.
Immediately after trying one matsutake this way, I cooked the other five and devoured them. I insist you try them this way if you get any matsutake!
Objective:
Side Dish
Total Time:
30 mins
Yield:
Varies
Suggested Mushrooms:
- Matsutake (Tricholoma magnivelare, Tricholoma matsutake, Tricholoma murrillianum)
Ingredients
One 8" diameter matsutake
1 garlic clove about half the size of the end of your thumb
Sweet, unsalted butter
About half to a third as much fresh ginger as garlic
Two to three dashes soy sauce
A dash of dry white wine (optional)
Method
Slice the matsutake very thinly.
Slice and mince the garlic and the ginger.
Sauté the garlic and ginger in butter until the garlic begins to taste sweet.
Add the matsutake, and slowly sauté until limp.
Add two to three dashes of soy sauce to the pan, and the dish is ready to eat.
As an experiment, I tried adding a dash of dry white wine to the pan as a result, and was pleased with the result.