Tag: entree

Lion’s Share

Lion’s mane are the Swiss army knives of mushrooms. What other fungi can more seamlessly blur the line between plant matter and animal flesh, encompassing both chicken and beef? Pressed and seared, they morph into fillets worthy of a high-end steakhouse, almost infuriatingly rich and juicy. Battered and fried, they’re equally compelling as crispy morsels of popcorn chicken. Given their commensurately luxurious pricing, I’m forever torn on how best to prepare them. Of course, after intense debate, I realized there’s no need to choose when you can have both.

Combining the two ideas has already proven wildly successful for the classic Southern comfort food, chicken fried steak. That is, traditionally, steak prepared in the manner of fried chicken, first seared and then battered and fried to a crispy, crave-worthy finish. Despite having neither meat nor poultry involved, the procedure is almost exactly the same.

When working with lion’s mane mushrooms destined for beefy glory, the key is to first sear them off plain, pressing HARD on both sides. Don’t be shy, don’t worry about hurting their feelings; you need to lean in with all your weight like they owe you money. It takes real pure brute strength to transform the fibrous fungus into something genuinely meaty. Unlike the original animal-based prep, they benefit from a long, slow marinade at this point to amplify the inherently umami flavors.

Cream gravy is essential for a properly composed plate. Flecked with coarsely ground pepper, you can whip it up in minutes, before the steaks even think of cooling down. Deeply bronzed, tender at the core, and clad in that signature craggy, golden armor, they can withstand a drenching ladleful, or two, of the velvety sauce. The seared interior maintains a dense, hearty chew, while the fried exterior shatters away in delicate flakes. It’s indulgent, a little excessive, and completely justifiable.

The beauty of lion’s mane isn’t just in how convincingly it imitates meat, but in the way it refuses to be limited by it. Why settle for chicken or beef, when one mushroom can do both, often in the same bite?

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Hannah (BitterSweet)1 Comment

Right On Cue

Barbecue is big business here in the south. People worship at the altar of smoke and fire, where pitmasters stand like priests before steel rigs blackened by decades of grease and devotion. It’s less of a meal than a declaration of faith, because in truth, it does take that level of conviction to tend a single slab of protein for 6 – 8 hours and trust that it’s time well-spent.

Devotees are ready to throw down at the barest whisper of dissent, even when discussing the differences between Texas, Memphis, Alabama, Kansas City, and the Carolinas. Tossing a meatless option into the ring would tantamount to treason, ostensibly punishable by law, but I’m prepared to take that risk. That’s how confident I am in Fungitarian BBQ.

Mushrooms Over Meat

Challenging the status quo with mushrooms might sound dubious in a culture built on beef, but the whole art of barbecue has always been about transformation. Founded on taking humble, tough cuts and turning them into something transcendent through smoke, spice, patience, and fire, that ethos can be applied to anything. Fungitarian delivers on that same philosophy, and flavor, all in one ready-to-eat package.

Where There’s Smoke

Give mushrooms the same amount of heat and time to unlock their inherently umami, meaty, almost primal qualities. Charred around the edges, toothsome and supple in the middle, there are no woody stems to contend with, and no gristle, bones, or fat, for that matter, either. Absorbing the heady smoke like a marinade, they carry that flavor all the way through, rather than merely wearing it on the surface. That’s what makes it even more compelling as the crowning jewel on a loaded baked potato.

Potayto, Potahto

A proper barbecue potato is a celebration of excess. Blistered skins splitting open to reveal a steaming, fluffy interior; even without adornment, it’s a mouthwatering sight to behold. When piled recklessly high with cheese, protein, and enough toppings to collapse under its own weight, make no mistake, this isn’t some token side dish. Best of all, when done right, no BBQ sauce need apply. Such sticky, sweet syrup would only distract from the rich flavors of smoke and spice within.

Low and Slow or Fast and Fresh

Baked potatoes are nothing if not adaptable. You have five choices for how to approach the cooking process, all of which creating perfectly delicious results, though the longest wait does yield the greatest rewards.

  • Smoker: 2 hours at 225 degrees
  • Oven or grill: 45 – 60 minutes at 400 degrees
  • Air fryer: 30 – 40 minutes at 370 degrees
  • Microwave: 8 – 10 minutes at full power (cooked one at a time)

If you’ve already got the smoker or grill going, it’s a no-brainer. That extra infusion of smoke and char can’t be replicated and is tough to find elsewhere, even in most restaurants. If you’ve got a squad of hangry guests that need to eat ASAP, there’s no shame in getting an assist from the microwave.

Top That

Likewise, the number of potential toppings to adorn your barbecue masterpiece is limited only by your imagination. Want to add more veggies? Throw in some chopped broccoli or sautéed spinach. Like it hot? Go all in on chilies. Just a few of my favorite suggestions include:

Barbecue For All

Purists may clutch their tongs in horror, but it’s their loss if they can’t invite more diverse options to the backyard barbecue. One bite would end the argument faster than any amount of debate. Smoke, spice, char, and comfort don’t belong exclusively to brisket. That same experience is accessible to anyone willing to put in the time and respect the process. The loaded baked potato simply happens to be the perfect stage for proving it.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments

From Rags To Riches

Some recipes can start your mouth watering and stomach growling just from the title alone. Entire classes devoted to food writing dive deep into the fine points of manipulating the reader with descriptions carefully woven together that illicit nostalgia, connect the dots to familiar flavors, and simultaneously stir up excitement over the promises of a new, novel eating experience. Ropa vieja is not like that.

Don’t Judge a Book Based on Its Title

Translating directly as “old clothes,” it refers to the shredded, ragged texture of the dish. If you’re expecting a mouthful of ratty cloth, though, you’ll be happily surprised by the smoky umami bomb that meets your tongue instead.

Marvelous Mushrooms

Meaty, tender, yet toothsome shredded oyster mushrooms stand in for overcooked strands of steak, both shortening the cooking time and unlocking even greater umami depth. The name along may not do it justice, but this is one instance where tasting is believing.

Fast, Real Food; Not Fast Food

This is an adaptation of the Enoki Mushroom Ropa Vieja from my cookbook, Real Food, Really Fast. You can genuinely use any type of shredded or sliced mushroom, or even a combination of fungi if you’re feeling especially flush. It can be enjoyed all by itself as a one-pot stew, on top of rice, alongside fried plantains, or with thick slices of crusty bread.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)9 Comments

Bespoke Beoseot

Believe it or not, it’s almost impossible to overcook mushrooms. Aside from burning them, because anything is flammable if you try hard enough, hours-long braises won’t make fungi tough nor mushy. Their unique structural properties are unlike either vegetables or protein. While meat toughens and vegetables disintegrate, mushrooms contain chitin, a heat-stable polymer in their cell walls that maintains their toothsome, bouncy bite, no matter how long they’re in the hot seat.

Such resiliency makes them ideal candidates for heavy-duty braises the world over. Korean cuisine especially has perfected this technique, designed to coax deep, robust flavors into every fiber of any given ingredient.

The Art of the Jjim

Jjim are dishes simmered in a potent sauce until the liquid reduces into a glossy, concentrated glaze. Usually, this method is reserved for the tough cuts of short ribs or bone-in poultry which demand exceptional time and patience to tenderize.

However, the uncanny ability of mushrooms to withstand heat while acting as a literal flavor sponges opens the door to innovation. You get all the depth of a slow-simmered stew without having to babysit a pot for hours, only to have your dinner turn into savory dental floss.

Inspired by jjimdak, or dak jjim, depending on who you ask, we’re keeping the braise (jjim) and losing the chicken (dak) in favor of mushrooms (beoseot).

Braise without the Baggage

Beyond the fact that it’s a one-pot, “set it and forget it” dream, Beoseot Jjim has become a fast favorite because it solves the fundamental problem of the braise. Usually, a braise is a trade-off: to achieve a rich, layered, and nuanced sauce, you have to sacrifice the integrity of the ingredients. Using mushrooms means making no compromises.

  • Umami Synergy: Simmering mushrooms in a soy-based glaze sets the stage for a high-level meeting of savory molecules. The glutamates in the fungi shake hands with the fermented soybeans, creating a flavor that tastes unbelievably meaty despite its plant-based origins.
  • Chickened Out: Shredded oyster mushrooms, torn into long, irregular strips, mimic the fibrous grain of pulled chicken so effectively you might find yourself checking for bones.
  • Send Noodz: Although it’s not technically considered a conventional noodle dish, it wouldn’t be a jjim without dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles). These translucent threads are a remarkably efficient delivery system, soaking up the spicy, syrupy reduction, not a drop left behind.

Fungi are the Future

Perfectly exemplifying the iconic Korean sweet-salty-spicy trifecta, every bite punches above its weight. You get a dark, glossy glaze that clings to every shred of mushroom, punctuated by the sharp, clean heat of chilies. Without animal fat clouding the palate, the aromatics of ginger and garlic hit even harder.

It’s the kind of meal that feels indulgent and hearty, but since you’re eating a mountain of fungi instead of gristle and grease, you won’t leave the table immediately needing a nap. Get all the soul of the original dish, with none of the high-maintenance drama. In the face of fungi, chicken never stood a chance.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments

Mad Macs

No matter how many recipes you have for mac and cheese, I’m willing to bet you can make room for another. One of humankind’s greatest culinary achievements, it’s both hard to mess up and hard to improve. Even mediocre mac usually makes for an acceptable meal. While I never set out to make “the best” or even a “better” vegan mac and cheese, I think that quite accidentally, that’s exactly what I did. For that, I have one giant container of Naked Pea protein powder to thank, or curse.

Protein Profusion

The danger of having a five-pound tub of pure pea protein at your disposal is that there’s no boundaries that it can’t cross. At some point, it becomes a challenge: just how much protein can I add into one meal? If one scoop is good, how about two? My goal, of course, is always to put flavor first, so this game has necessary limits. Fortunately, the losses have been few, and the spoils of victory are great.

Naked Pea, Candid Comforts

Naked Pea unflavored, unsweetened protein is ripe for innovation. The base itself, that single ingredient foundation, provides all the inspiration I need to dream up a thousand different directions to explore. Last time, we went all-in on green peas, which make another appearance here, but the real star of the show are yellow split peas. If you think classic stove top-style mac and cheese has nothing to do with beans, think again. At the heart of this stunningly gooey, silky-smooth, umami cheese sauce, the legumes add body to the easily blended pure protein infusion. Cashews come in with natural richness, allowing the blend to be unbelievably oil-free, too.

Proteinmaxxing Your Mac

To maximize the nutritional profile of this dish, the choice of noodles is key. Standard semolina pasta is surprisingly high in protein, but we can take it one step further by using a chickpea- or lentil-based pasta, which has the added benefit of being gluten-free, for all our celiac friends to enjoy. These noodles range from 7 to 15 grams of protein per 2-ounce serving, so if you’re serious about optimizing your macros, choose your fighter wisely. You’ll find a similar set of options for soymilk; while any non-dairy milk will do, soy will always deliver the strongest protein punch, with brands weighing in at 7 to 12 grams of protein per cup.

Just the Cheese, Please?

A good plant-based cheese sauce is absolutely indispensable. One that’s as healthy as it is tasty is worth its weight in nutritional yeast, transforming everything it touches into pure comfort with a buttery, golden glow. You may think this recipe makes way too much sauce, and it certainly would be an ample blanket to smother your noodles, there’s a million other ways to enjoy it, should you choose to hold some back.

  • Vegan Queso: Add diced pickled jalapeños, fire-roasted tomatoes, green chilies, and/or a dash of chipotle powder for a smoky, spicy dip, worthy of a bottomless basket of tortilla chips.
  • Loaded Baked Potatoes: Pour it over baked potatoes or sweet potatoes and finish with steamed broccoli, scallions, shiitake bacon, or black beans for an effortless dinner.
  • Cheesy Vegetable Gratin: Toss with roasted cauliflower or broccoli and rice or sliced potatoes before baking until bubbling and lightly browned on top.
  • Creamy Soup Starter: Thin with vegetable broth to create an instant cheddar-style soup base for broccoli cheddar, corn chowder, or beer cheese soup.
  • Deluxe Tofu Scramble: Fold into scrambled tofu and enjoy straight up, or wrap it in a tortilla to make breakfast burritos for a savory morning upgrade.

Saucy Hot Take

Between you and me, and the entire internet, because I’m not shy about making my opinions known, 99% of foods do not need more protein added to them and suffer for the attempt. This sauce, this freaking sauce, is obscenely good. Infuriatingly good. I found myself licking utensils mid-photo shoot, then surreptitiously slicing crudité to help “clean” the sides of blenders and bowls. It’s so good that it makes me angry that anyone would heedlessly toil through a lesser bowl of dairy-free mac and cheese, regardless of nutritional stats.

Protein with a Purpose

When it has to be high in protein, it has to be worth eating, too. Start with whole foods, building on ingredients that bring genuine flavor and substance to the table, and the numbers tend to work themselves out naturally. Creamy split peas, rich cashews, savory nutritional yeast, and a generous scoop of Naked Pea come together as the foundation for something truly crave-worthy. Every forkful delivers the sort of comfort that will have you coming back for seconds, long after the macros stop mattering.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments

Fungi-Curious

Mushrooms need no introduction around here, but I realize that in many kitchens, they still do. People who profess a distaste for mushrooms tend to think of white button mushrooms, the most common supermarket specimen that do no justice to the fungi kingdom. Bland, rubbery, and watery when cooked, it’s no wonder why most people cite the texture as being the biggest turnoff. However, that’s like dismissing all chocolate because you once ate a stale Tootsie Roll. The world of mycology is vast, wonderful, weird, and wildly misunderstood.

Oyster mushrooms are the gateway mushroom, if you ask me, capable of converting the skeptics. Frilly, delicate, and almost floral in appearance when raw, they undergo a complete personality transformation once introduced to heat. Their edges crisp and caramelize like shredded carnitas, while maintaining an almost buttery interior. They shred beautifully, drink in marinades with an unquenchable thirst, and can swing from smoky barbecue to spicy curry without missing a beat.

Fungitarian Packages in All Five Flavors

With this strong foundation, Fungitarian by Windy City Mushroom is bridging the gap between mushroom skeptics and obsessives alike. Built around organically grown oyster mushrooms, these ready-to-eat meal starters let mushrooms shine, flexing their umami prowess to full effect. Randomly stumbling upon the frozen packages one day at Sprouts, I knew I couldn’t leave without a full cart.

Mushroom Toast

Don’t mistake the Original for being simple based on its versatility. Simmered in white wine with a garlic-forward finish, the short list of ingredients comes together with remarkable complexity. Being so adaptable doesn’t mean it lacks personality, it means it knows exactly when to step forward and when to let everything else shine. No dish is off limits nor any cuisine out of bounds. Fold it into creamy risotto, heap it onto sourdough toast with avocado, toss it into pasta, or crisp it in the air fryer and eat it like fried potato sticks. We’d be here all day if I kept listing serving suggestions.

Basic Bean Tacos

Taco, meanwhile, was made with a clear destination in mind. Smoky chipotles impart warmth without overwhelming the coriander, cumin, and oregano seasoning blend. It practically begs to be swaddled in charred tortillas with slabs of avocado and a reckless amount of salsa verde. Any of your Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites are candidates for this inclusion, from appetizers to the main event. Stuff it into burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, gorditas, or directly into your mouth using tortilla chips as edible shovels.

Snap Pea Stir Fry

Asian food is a broad category that’s difficult to elegantly define. Asian Zing understood the assignment. Ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and just enough sweetness create a glossy, punchy flavor bomb that feels tailor-made for rice bowls, stir-fries, noodles, or lettuce wraps. The oyster mushrooms soak it all up beautifully, becoming intensely savory little umami sponges with crisp edges and chewy centers. Cooked simply, as packaged, it’s still delicate enough not to upset the balance of fresh vegetable sushi, while the addition of bird’s eye chilies make it an ideal fit for fiery Thai pad kra pao.

Backyard BBQ Sandwiches

BBQ is serious business around here and this one doesn’t mess around. Smoky in a natural way that sings of smoldering hickory, there’s genuine heat to the seasoning rather than the usual sticky sweetness I’ve come to expect. Saucy and just messy enough to require extra napkins, it takes a big swing and lands the hit with every bite. Piled onto a toasted bun with crunchy slaw, it channels full summer cookout energy without needing a grill, a smoker, or your uncle Greg insisting he “knows meat.” I bet he could even be fooled for their facility in mimicking pulled pork or shredded brisket texture, while tasting unmistakably better, containing the savory depth most people spend hours trying to coax out of a hulking primal cut.

Creamy Polenta with Mushroom Ragu

I was surprised to hear from the founder that Marinara proved more complicated to explain than others. Not a full sauce, it could be transformed into one with crushed tomatoes and a luxurious slow simmer on the stove, but they stand alone as marinara-flavored meatless morsels. As such, it’s an ideal addition to dishes that would drown if given all that additional liquid. Spoon it over soft polenta, layer it into lasagna, stuff it into baked shells, or bake it with penne and plenty of vegan cheese to give any of the classics a considerable upgrade.

The beauty of Fungitarian is that any of the designated flavors are more suggestions than rigid rules. Seamlessly sliding between different foodways, you could easily infuse a bit of taco spice into your favorite pasta and red sauce, while marinara could be the start of your next great tikka masala. It’s an ideal springboard for inspiration when you’re short on ideas and big on hunger, or the foundation for greater culinary creativity. Although I almost splashed out and ate my whole stash without venturing into the realm of recipes, there was one idea that was calling me from the start: the French Dip Sandwich.

Stretching the Original with thinly shaved super-firm tofu gives you even more to love, not to mention more surface area to soak in marinade. Lightly caramelized and loaded into crusty bread, then draped with melted vegan cheese, I dare you to find me a mushroom hater when these babies are on the table. I also question the sanity of the person who first looked at this and decided to dunk the whole mess in leftover pan drippings to make sure every bite was sopping wet, but you know what, I respect the choice and dutifully follow suit. Au jus is a beautiful thing, and I found that I do, in fact, appreciate a sandwich utterly soaked, through and through, with pure umami excess.

I love seeing plants in meat-dominated fields. Reclaiming recipes long treated as inaccessible to vegans, oyster mushrooms strike me as a natural evolution of the centerpiece. Don’t call it an imitation when mushrooms are the real asset that can’t be matched.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments