Sauteed Oyster Mushrooms

When I was a wee girl mushrooms were my prime nemesis. I can't think of a food item I hated more than mushrooms. I could detect it in a dish with my mushroom radar before it even hit the table for a meal. I wasn't a picky eater though, having eaten huge raw shrimps that my dad and his friends had caught with just a dip into wasabi-bombed soy sauce, or freshly chopped writhing octopus on the beach while breathing in the salty ocean sea breeze, or eating pickled fish entrails without ever knowing what they were.

However oyster mushrooms, even though on the enemy side, was a more neutral member. When my mom would sautee the oyster mushrooms up I would eat one or two pieces noting that it didn't have that strong nasty "earthy" flavor.

Of course now the story has changed a bit. Now I stand in a restaurant kitchen marveling at boxes of beautiful, and very expensive, mushrooms. Cleaning them gently and tearing them by hand slowly following their natural verticle lines. Chanterelles, king oysters, shimeji, black trumpets, maitake.

Having seen healthy batches of mushrooms at Marina Farms now and then, I picked up these oyster mushrooms for a simple sautee. I used canola oil in this case as my olive oils would overpower the delicate flavors of the oyster mushrooms. A few slivers of onion, a drizzle of soy sauce, and a quick toss of the wrist, these mushrooms were completed and ready to accompany my rice as a banchan.

Make sure you gently squeeze the root bottom of the mushroom to check for woodiness. This didn't cross my mind at the time I was tearing the oyster mushrooms because they looked so clean and soft, but I did get a few chewy ends during the meal and that did not please. Hey, why didn't I add any garlic though?