How to Cook Oyster Mushrooms Properly
Oyster mushrooms are plants that are often used as an alternative to chicken, fish, or beef in vegetarian cooking menus. Their chewy texture makes them similar to meat texture. The taste is also quite similar to chicken meat.
Unfortunately, oyster mushrooms often emit a strange smell if you cannot process them correctly. This rather disturbing strange smell does not easily go away; you need to take several steps to eliminate it.
Here are the correct ways to cook oyster mushrooms so that the strange smell can be eliminated. Thus, the dish will be more enjoyable to eat.
Choosing Fresh Oyster Mushrooms
Fresh oyster mushrooms have characteristics such as perfectly opened shapes, chewy texture, little moisture, still white in color, and a fresh smell. To get fresh oyster mushrooms, you can look for them in traditional markets. If the mushrooms are slightly brown, very watery, have a somewhat wilted texture, and have an unpleasant smell, it can be ensured that the oyster mushrooms are not fresh and have not been sold for a long time. Avoid choosing mushrooms that are not fresh as they can affect the taste of the dish.
Washing Them Thoroughly
The next step is to wash them thoroughly. If you cannot clean them immediately after buying, you can store them in the refrigerator first to prevent the mushrooms from wilting. Additionally, if placed in a less cool place, the mushrooms will eventually emit an unpleasant smell.
For oyster mushrooms, the part that usually emits an unpleasant smell is around the root or the tip of the stem. Cut that part and rinse it under running water, then shake it off to remove the excess water sticking to the mushrooms. You do not need to squeeze the mushrooms. Just leave them as they are to maintain their texture.
Soaking in Salt Water
Since you may not be able to get fresh mushrooms every day, what if you end up with mushrooms that are not fresh? One way you can do is to soak them in salt water.
The purpose of soaking oyster mushrooms in salt water is to reduce the unpleasant smell of the mushrooms that are not fresh. It also helps to remove dirt or insects that may be stuck to the mushrooms. The soaking time does not need to be long, just 10 minutes.
In some cases, mushrooms do not need to be soaked in salt water. For example, if you want to make crispy mushrooms, they do not need to be soaked in salt water. Just clean them with running water, coat them with flour, and then fry. Soaking can cause the mushrooms to be less crispy and absorb too much oil.
Use Various Spices and Herbs
In some cases, even after being cleaned and soaked in salt water, the smell of mushrooms may still linger. An effective way to mask this faint mushroom smell is by adding various spices and herbs. The use of chili, galangal, lemongrass, bay leaves, and similar ingredients can eliminate the faint mushroom smell.
Immediately process the mushrooms after you buy them. Storing mushrooms too long in the refrigerator is also not good. Mushrooms that have been in the refrigerator for a long time also have the potential to emit unpleasant smells and become watery. If that happens, mixing them into other foods is also not good. Instead, it will ruin the taste of the dish.
I hope the tips for cooking oyster mushrooms above are useful. Happy cooking.
Author: Iskael
