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Khao Soi with Chicken & Chanterelles

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I learned how to make this dish from my friend Zack at The Fungivore, who spent time in Thailand before moving to Oaxaca where he now leads mushroom foraging and travel adventures. Though not traditional, chanterelles make a worthy addition with their fruity-fungally flavor and meatiness. I think of this as a hearty winter curry—and a smart way to use frozen chanterelles that I’ve put up for the year. We doubled the recipe to feed ten hungry foragers after a January day of mushroom hunting in the woods of Mendocino, pairing it with a Thai salad of pomelo, cabbage, and cilantro tossed with a dressing of blended lime juice, garlic, chili pepper, and fish sauce.

  • 1 can (4-oz) Penang curry paste
  • yellow curry powder (enough to fill 1/2 the empty curry paste can)
  • 3-4 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp canola oil, plus more if needed
  • 4-5 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
  • 2 or 3 shallots, diced
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 can (14-oz) unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2-3 tbsp palm sugar
  • 1 lb chanterelles, torn into pieces
  • 1 package Chinese egg noodles
  • garnish: lime wedges, cilantro, chili sauce, pickled cabbage or mustard greens
  1. Add one can of Penang curry paste to a large mixing bowl. Fill half the empty can with yellow curry powder and add that to the bowl. Stir curries together with 3 or 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, or to taste. Add chicken thighs and slather with curry mixture. If preparing ahead, refrigerate a few hours to marinate, otherwise proceed to next step.
  2. In a wok or large pot, sauté marinated chicken thighs in oil over medium-low heat. This can be a delicate procedure; turn thighs with tongs, adding a little more oil if necessary, making sure the curry paste doesn’t burn on the bottom. Add diced shallots as thighs begin to brown and continue moving chicken pieces around until all are lightly browned.
  3. Add stock to deglaze, then coconut milk. Sweeten with palm sugar to taste and simmer until chicken is tender.
  4. Cook egg noodles according to package directions, drain, rinse with cold tap water, and set aside. Note: reserving some uncooked noodles to fry as an additional crunchy garnish is a nice touch and typical of Northern Thai preparations. Rehydrate the dried noodles in cold water for a few minutes, pat dry, and pan-fry in oil.
  5. Prepare remaining garnish ingredients.
  6. Add chanterelles to curry just before serving. If the mushrooms are fresh rather than previously sautéed and frozen, allow enough time to properly cook, several minutes.
  7. For each serving, add boiled noodles to a bowl, ladle curry and a chicken thigh on top, and garnish.

New in Paperback!

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I’M PLEASED TO announce that my book The Mushroom Hunters is now available in a new paperback edition.

Much has changed in the kingdom of fungi since the book was first published in the fall of 2013. This new edition updates some of the scientific advances, particularly in taxonomy.

But perhaps most importantly, the wider public has become increasingly aware of mushrooms and their place in the environment in the years since publication.

My hope is that a new generation of burgeoning mushroom enthusiasts can find their way into this mysterious and magical realm through this new edition.

Oso Refreshing: Osoberry Cocktail

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Osoberry Cocktail

THE OSOBERRY, aka Indian plum (Oemleria cerasiformis), is one of the first shrubs in the Pacific Northwest to leaf out and flower, heralding spring and warm days ahead. This makes it a welcome sight in lowland forests after a long winter.

Ranging from southwestern British Columbia to California, osoberry inhabits lower elevation mixed forests west of the Cascade Crest, where it grows to a maximum height of about twenty feet. Its small purple fruits are edible but mostly pit, with an astringency that could probably be made palatable with a food mill, sugar, and determination. I leave them for the wildlife.

The newly leafed-out foliage is another matter. Easily nabbed and redolent of cucumber or pickled melon rind, the bright green leaves call out to the mixologist. Experiment as you wish. This delicious drink was concocted with five or six young leaves, muddled in an ice shaker, along with the juice of half a lime, a splash of my elderflower liqueur, and good gin—a fine combination for an early spring happy hour.

Matsutake Ramen

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I DON’T PRETEND to be a ramen aficionado. That seems to be a full-time job these days. But I like ramen, and a home-made ramen rather than the packaged instant variety can still be a fairly quick meal. This miso-based version is goosed with the sublime meatiness and funky flavor of soy-glazed matsutake mushrooms. 

Unlike Sukiyaki Hotpot or Dobin Mushi, the purpose of the matsutake mushrooms in this dish is not to infuse the broth. Instead, the mushrooms are placed atop the other ingredients after being sautéed and are meant to be enjoyed for their meaty texture and singular flavor, which pairs very well with the rich, spicy soup. To be honest, I was bowled over by how perfectly the marriage of broth, mushroom, and noodle worked in this first attempt at a matsutake ramen. In the future I’ll try other styles of broth, but it’s hard to imagine anything better.

You can use any chili bean paste to spice up the broth, but I recommend an earthy Piixian douban from Sichuan Province (note, however, that Pixian douban is salty, so you likely won’t need to add additional salt). And while a decent store-bought variety of chicken stock is fine in a pinch, your own broth made from a leftover roast chicken carcass will always be better. 

1 or 2 matsutake buttons, sliced
soy sauce
1 quart chicken (or veg) stock
1 thumb ginger, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 small shallot, finely diced
1/4 lb ground pork (or crumbled tofu)
1 tbsp chili bean paste
2 tbsp sesame oil
3-4 tbsp white miso paste
2 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sugar
salt and white pepper, to taste
10 oz fresh ramen noodles
2 green onions, sliced
2 eggs, soft boiled and halved
green vegetable (e.g., baby bok choy)
toasted sesame seeds

1. Make the soup. Over medium-low heat combine 1 tablespoon of sesame oil with diced ginger, garlic, and shallot. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute. Add ground pork and raise heat to medium. Sauté until meat is no longer pink. Add miso paste, chili bean paste, and sugar, careful not to scorch. Add sake and chicken broth. Season and cover. Reduce heat to a low simmer.

2. While soup broth is simmering, glaze sliced matsutake buttons. Sauté in a pan over medium heat in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. After turning mushrooms once, add a splash of soy sauce (a tablespoon or two) and allow to reduce until the matsutake slices have a deep mahogany color. Turn again to fully coat with soy and remove.

3. Prepare ingredients in soup bowls. Boil ramen according to instructions and divide between bowls. Add baby bok choy (or other greens) to simmering soup pot and cook for a minute or two. Ladle broth into bowls along with greens. Top with glazed matsutake, soft-boiled eggs, and a garnish of green onion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Hericium Crab Cakes

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HERICIUM IS A GENUS of fungi that includes edible favorites like the lion’s mane and bear’s head. Cooked hericium has a texture similar to crab meat as well as a hint of seafood taste. Faux crab cakes are a popular way to prepare this fungus for the table.

The main trick is to properly assess the water content of your hericium. If it’s dry and not waterlogged, you can tear it up into small pieces (like lump crab meat) and mix with the other ingredients as is. If, however, the fungus has a high water content (due to recent rain, etc.), you may need to gently sauté it first in a lightly greased non-stick pan to cook off some of that liquid before forming your patties. Typically you can judge the water content by squeezing a chunk of the fungus; if it readily sheds water like a wet sponge, definitely try to cook off some of this moisture first. A few days in the refrigerator will help dry it, too.

I made these hericium crab cakes with about a quarter of a bear’s head mushroom (Hericium abietis) that I found on a dead western hemlock in a Washington State old-growth forest. The cakes are served with sweet chili sauce, white rice, and Sichuan cucumber salad.

2 loose cups bear’s head fungus, torn into small pieces to imitate lump crab meat
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 heaping tbsp parsley (or cilantro), chopped
3 tbsp mayo
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup panko or fine breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
butter

  1. Sauté onion and red pepper together in butter. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. In a medium to large bowl combine the sautéed onions and red bell pepper with parsley, mayo, mustard, Worcester sauce, lemon juice and seasoning. Next stir in the fungus and egg, just enough to thoroughly mix. Now slowly add panko or breadcrumbs until the mixture is just wet enough to be formed into patties that will hold together while cooking, about a 1/4 cup. Set aside mixture for several minutes.
  3. In a nonstick pan over medium heat, melt a pat of butter. Form patties and pan-fry until lightly browned on both sides. Serves 2

 

Seattle Book Events

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well_readTwo pieces of good news: The Mushroom Hunters was just short-listed for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Awards (thank you local indies!), and my first TV interview will be broadcast on the PBS show Well Read. Admittedly, I didn’t sleep much before the interview (and I had a frog in my throat, the first cold of the season), but the 30-minute conversation flew by in a blink, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with host Terry Tazioli, who is smart, curious, and an all-around good guy.

I’ll be staying close to home through the remainder of 2013, with plenty of readings and slide talks planned for the Seattle area. If you’re curious about edible fungi or the hidden subculture of mushroom pickers and buyers, stop by one of these events:

Thursday, Elliott Bay Books

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elliottbayFor those of you in the Seattle area, please join me at Elliott Bay Books this Thursday, September 12, at 7 pm. I’ll be reading from The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground America, showing slides, and raffling off bags of dried morels. The cafe will have shroomy bites and wine. There might even be a special guest visitor…

This past Tuesday I was in Washington, D.C., for the official on-sale date, to make an appearance on the Diane Rehm Show. You can listen to the broadcast here. On Thursday I’ll be at my local NPR affiliate, KUOW 94.9 FM, to tape a segment that will air between noon and 2 pm.

Other upcoming appearances include Wordstock Lit Fest, October 4-6, Portland, OR; and Breitenbush Mushroom Gathering, October 17-20, Breitenbush Hot Springs, OR. More events are in the works, so check back here for listings.

Razor Clam Foraging & Cooking Class

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***UPDATE*** Just a few spots left.

Attn: Razor Clam Newbies! In association with Bainbridge Island Parks & Rec, I’ll be offering my first razor clam foraging and cooking class at the end of March. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but the planning required has stymied efforts. Until now.

This is a pilot program, and as such it’s a great deal. We have rented a house on the Washington Coast north of Ocean Shores for two nights, March 28-29. This coincides with morning razor clam openings on Friday and Saturday. The program will begin Thursday night with an informal “nightcap” discussion of razor clam biology, habitat, and foraging technique. The next morning we’ll dig razor clams on the beach right out back. That night we’ll reconvene at cocktail hour to go over processing (razor clams require cleaning) and then make a three-course feast with our catch. There will be an opportunity to dig another limit the following morning before checkout.

The cost—including 2 nights at the Seabrook resort, foraging instruction, breakfast on Friday/Saturday, Friday lunch, and Friday dinner—is $225 per person. Register at www.biparks.org or call Jeff Ozimek at (206) 842-2306 x115. Deadline to register is 3/17/13. Hurry, space is limited.

Huckleberry Pear Crisp

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THE FIRST DESSERT I truly loved as a kid was Apple Crisp, served in big vats at the school cafeteria. This recipe is a variation on that old standby, using pears instead of apples and goosing it with a shot of huckleberries. A shot of brandy or bourbon wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.


Topping

1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp white sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts

Filling

6 pears, peeled and diced
1 cup huckleberries
1/4 cup white sugar
zest from 1 lemon
2 tbsp flour

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. If raw, toast pecans a few minutes in oven or skillet.

2. Stir together filling in a medium-sized bowl, adjusting sugar to taste.

3. Mix together dry topping ingredients in a medium-sized bowl: flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts.

4. Pour filling into lightly greased  9-inch ramekin or pie dish. Cover with topping. Place dish on baking sheet in oven and bake 40 or more minutes until golden brown on top, with juices bubbling. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Serves 8.

Loss of a Friend

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My friend Christina Choi passed away yesterday.

Christina was a nurturing soul who loved to feed people with her food, warmth, and good spirit. During its brief run, her restaurant Nettletown in Seattle developed a devoted following and probably offered the highest ratio of wild to conventional food of any regularly operating restaurant in the country. To eat at Nettletown was to know exactly what was growing wild at that very moment somewhere in the mountains, woods, or river valleys just beyond the city. This was one of the reasons why you had to be back next week—there was always something new coming into season, prepared in an unfussy way that allowed the ingredient’s singular qualities to shine.

Another reason was Christina herself. The kitchen couldn’t contain her. She needed to come out and visit with her customers—and we needed to bask in her glowing presence.

One time I brought a class of high schoolers to Nettletown. All week we had been foraging for wild foods as part of a week-long experiential course, in the Cascades, along the shore, even in a Seattle park. Our visit to Nettletown was a reward of sorts for the effort the students had put into the class and also a reminder of how food brings people together. Christina looked tired to me that day and I was worried about her. The hurly-burly of the restaurant business seemed to be taking a toll. Nevertheless, she rose to the occasion, coming out of her busy kitchen to spend time with the kids. She talked passionately about the various wild foods on the menu and where they came from, their high nutritious value and unique flavors. Afterward, on the bus ride back to school, several of the students told me how much of an impression Christina had made on them. “She’s rad,” one tenth grader said—high praise.

I usually visited Nettletown with my notebook and camera. My plan was to write a comprehensive post about this unlikely restaurant and its food over the course of a year’s seasons, highlighting many of my favorite dishes. But just as soon as the experiment had begun, it was over. The restaurant closed at the end of August this year. In some ways I wasn’t surprised. When I asked Christina about it, she said she was exhausted and needed to take care of her health. Like her cooking, she was direct, honest, and true to herself.

After months of not feeling like her usual self, Christina finally saw a neurologist. On December 12 she was diagnosed with a 5-cm brain aneurysm and went into surgery two days later. As feared, the aneurysm burst during surgery, and more complications followed. She died on December 28 while surrounded by the love of her family. She was 34.

We will miss you, Christina, the many of us who you nurtured with your food and kindness.