Fried Shiitake Mushrooms and Green Salad with Sesame Dressing

….Have you ever tried a salad with thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms fried to a crisp, piled high on top of greens? When you pick up one of those thinly fried shiitake slices and take a bite, it’s wonderfully crunchy and keeps you reaching for more with your chopsticks. Underneath the shiitake mushrooms, spinach and kale lightly mixed with sesame dressing create an exquisite, luxurious salad flavor. Slicing fresh shiitake mushrooms thinly, drying them for a day, and delicately frying them results in a sophisticated salad dish. Opting for spinach and kale as the base for the vegetables is highly recommended. Even if you’re not fond of the texture of mushrooms, trying this once might introduce you to a new texture and experience of mushrooms. This dish is at the restaurant Nobu, Palo Alto. It’s a day remembered as the first dining-out experience with my second granddaughter, Jiwoo. Of course, Jiwoo was sleeping soundly in the stroller. I pray for Jiwoo to grow up healthy and happy. I also received a sophisticated set of yellow plates as a gift from DJ’s mom. I’m always grateful for her thoughtful gestures. I took one out and placed a salad on it. It looks beautiful!

Servings: 2

Time: 30 minutes, plus an additional day for drying the shiitake mushrooms

Ingredients:

1. 200g of shiitake mushrooms, sliced very thinly
2. 50 g baby spinach
3. 50 g baby kale
4. 2 tbsp mixed vegetables juice
5. canola oil for frying shiitake mushrooms

For creamy sesame dressing:

1. 4 tbsp ground roasted sesame seeds
2. 4 tbsp mayonnaise
3. 1 tbsp rice vinegar
4. 1 tbsp soy sauce
5. 2 tbsp sugar
6. 2 tbsp sesame oil

Cooking instructions:

1. Wipe the outside of the mushrooms with a kitchen towel to remove any dust, trim the stems, and thinly slice.

2. Spread them out well on a tray and let them dry in the sun for a day.

3. After one day, once the moisture has been removed from the mushrooms, they are no longer dried further.

4. Brush the mixed vegetable juice onto the dried shiitake mushrooms using a kitchen brush. Let them sit for 20 minutes.

5. Combine the ground roasted sesame seeds, mayonnaise, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil in a bowl, and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

6. Heat a cast-iron pot over medium heat and add some canola oil until it reaches 130°C.

7. Fry the dried shiitake mushrooms quickly until they turn light brown, for about 1 minute.

8. Place them on a tray lined with a couple of paper towels (which can help absorb excess oil).

9. Place the spinach and kale in a bowl and toss them with the sauce.

10. Place the mixed greens on a serving plate and top them with plenty of fried shiitake mushrooms. Serve it.

You can also view this recipe on instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0O5ZXRrQHj/?img_index=4