Matsutake Ramen is one of the first ways I served matsutake for tasting menus after I worked with them for the first time. It's a good starter recipe for using these mushrooms.
They have a smell and taste like nothing else. They're matsutake; one of the most interesting things I've cooked with.
They have a flavor that's difficult to describe. Other mushrooms like Boletes, and their cousins Leccinums, Suillus, and Tylopilus, all have a sort of taste/aroma, and you could make other comparisons with chanterelles, trumpets, and plenty of mushrooms by separating them into their related species.
Matsutake though? Nope.
They're related to shiitake and honey mushrooms, but any similarity ends on the microscopic level. People have said they smell cinnamon, red hots, gym socks, funk, fish, and to me they're all right- it's kinda hard to explain them.
One thing is for certain though-their flavor is powerful. Even peeling or chopping a single mushroom can perfume a room. Even so, just like other potent fungus (truffles), they can be easily overwhelmed by too many other ingredients.
With their hefty price tag, you don't want to waste any of these guys. This simple soup is a great example of how to stretch those matsutake as far as possible, it's easy-I'll tell you how.
When I receive matsutake in a restaurant, they've usually been out of the ground for a few days, at least. Unless you have a matsutake patch of your own, this will probably be the case for you too.
What happens is that the mushrooms dry out a little. Sand and grit stick to them in the worst way. Washing, brushing, or scrubbing I've found can be pointless sometimes. To really get the most out of purchased matsutake, you're probably going to need to peel them.
As I was peeling a big batch one day, I kept putting my nose into the bowl of trim that I was going to throw. The smell of the scrap alone was so intense that I decided to infuse some stock with it. It turned out so good, that now I never even think about tossing the peels. The stock has to be strained carefully to remove the grit, but it's a small price to pay for the outcome.
Matsutake beg to be cooked in Japanese style dishes. I'm not a professional at making ramen by any means, but I get by. What could be better than some ramen in matsutake broth?
You could switch up the garnishes any way you want. The only keys to this are a great homemade broth, the peel from the matsutake stems, and using plenty of the mushrooms themselves, the rest is up to you.
Here are the garnishes I used:
- Sliced, cooked pork belly
- A poached egg
- Thinly sliced green onions
- Fresh bean Sprouts
- Pea shoots
Matsutake Ramen
Equipment
- 1 large soup pot
Ingredients
Matsutake Broth (optional)
- 2 quarts 1 dashi, meat or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
- 1 qt Matsutake scrap this is roughly 8 oz
Ramen
- About 10 cups matsutake mushroom broth recipe follows
- ½ lb fresh matsutake mushrooms peeled and sliced ¼ in
- 2 tablespoon mild flavored cooking oil for cooking the matsutake
- Kosher salt
- Garnishes: use combination of fresh and prepared ingredients- sprouts green onions, chili oil, poached eggs, fish dumplings, cooked pork belly, etc, be creative.
- 4 oz (1 pack) ramen noodles per person
Instructions
Matsutake Broth
- Heat the dashi or stock until steaming hot. Add the matsutake trim, stir, and allow to infuse until cool. Carefully strain the stock after it's cooled and settled, and reserve.
Ramen
- Cook the ramen noodles in lightly salted water until al dente. Drain the noodles and rinse to halt the cooking, then reserve until needed. (this can be done ahead of time.) You can also cook the noodles in the broth if you like.
- Heat the matsutake broth in a small sauce pot, then season the broth lightly to taste with salt. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide saute pan. saute the sliced matsutake for a few moments, until they start to smell amazing and aromatic. Season the mushrooms lightly with salt and pepper to taste and reserve.
- In the bottom of four preheated soup bowls, place any cooked garnishes, like the noodles, pork belly or poached eggs. Ladle very hot broth over the cooked ingredients, then serve immediately with the fresh garnishes on the side.
Nicole Novak
Stay tuned for some mind boggling photos on Instagram, Alan. 🙂
Alan Bergo
Excellent Nicole. I'm praying to the mushroom gods for them to be fruiting when the new restaurant opens, nobody uses them around here since they're so expensive. I think with a little social media blast or two people will understand you have to pay for amazing ingredients though. *Fingers Crossed*
Dan Farmer
I've got some more venison backstrap, Alan, ol' buddy. Just sayin'...
Sam Schaperow
Actually, I forgot. You now eat Amanitas (well, at least one of them). I could offer you something extremely rare in return for valuable things like these or good truffles. The thing I have that's very special and rare, which many people never find and can't get from even putting the word out there to foragers that it is needed:
A Marasmius that has a similar taste and odor to a good quality white truffle salt I'm used to. This Marasmius is not the kind that has an off-taste, yet of a degree of garlicky, but instead it is like my salt but more potent and fuller bodied in smell and flavor. Even placing it in water briefly will impart this flavor to the water. And unlike many above-ground sporocarps, it hardly has a hint of a typical fungal odor/flavor. I've also only found this in small quantities in what may be red cedar. I find it most years, but again in only small numbers. Plus, as many Marasmius species are, these are quite small. So, I'm lucky to find .1 per year, and I do look extensively for them. I have stored a few of these very tiny things. I could spare one (about 1/3 of my stash, despite being so very very tiny, yet still flavorfully potent).
If we one day do this, I'd be interested in seeing a blog post about it here.
Sam Schaperow, M.S.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/plantforagers/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mushroomtalk/
Alan Bergo
I've also eaten tawny grisettes, after seeing them in a European mushroom guide. They were ok.
Sam Schaperow
Wow, that sounds very good. I'd probably be tempted to add a little msg and see if it improves the recipe.
That's one of the mushrooms I've never tried before. Perhaps some day. Have you found them from your own foraging, Alan? If you ever want to trade some of those for something else (an Amanita, perhaps?), just shoot me an email. Shipping this time of the year is better w/most fresh things, as long as a package doesn't sit overnight in sub-freezing conditions.
Sam Schaperow, M.S.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/plantforagers/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mushroomtalk/
Alan Bergo
Unfortunately Sam, they don't grow in the Midwest. I order them occasionally during their season, which is fall/winter in MN.
Dan Farmer
MATSIES!!!
Got some nice memories of those.
Alan Bergo
Yeah if I remember we ate quite a few that night!