Towards the end of the day on our most recent camping trip (of Poached Campout Omelet fame), my sous chef and one of his friends came over to me as we packed up and announced they’d found a huge wild mushroom. My sous chef then let me know he was pretty sure he’d accurately identified it but wanted me to take a look. Sure enough, they’d discovered a 4-5lb Chicken of the Woods! Of course, we brought it home, and then we split it up amongst a few friends so everyone could enjoy some!
We opted to Dehydrate about half of ours while cooking the rest fresh. This was the first of our fresh mushroom uses! Seeing as though this particular Chicken Mushroom was denser and less “shelfy” than others we’ve found in the past, we were a little worried about texture and tenderness. To get around this, we cut our mushroom into thin, long rectangular prisms (a little bigger than Julienne Cut, modeled after our Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce recipe). We then gave our eggplant and cabbage the same treatment, sautéed the all together, and finished by tossing with noodles to complete the dish! In all, this was a big winner, and we’re excited to recreate this one in Chicken season next year!
Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Asian Noodles. We used Ramen style noodles.
- Chicken of the Woods
- Chinese Eggplant
- Napa Cabbage
- Scallion Onions
- Soy Sauce
- Vegetable Oil
- Sesame Oil
Method:
- Fill your noodle pot with some water, and begin to heat it so it comes to a boil when your veggie prep from the next step is done.
- Prep your veggies:
- Cut your eggplant in half lengthwise. Then, slice each half into thirds, and then slice each of the thirds longways into thin strips. Cut each of your thinner strips (planks?) in half longways.
- Peel a few leaves of cabbage off your cabbage head, and then cut each in half down the stalk. Cut your cabbage into very thin ribbons.
- Julienne your Chicken Mushroom.
- Slice your scallions into ribbons.
- Heat your wok with some vegetable oil, and add your eggplant and cabbage. Stir fry until the eggplant begins to brown, and your cabbage wilts and becomes opaque.
- Add your chicken mushroom strips to your wok, and pour in some soy sauce. Stir fry until your mushroom softens (about 5-7 minutes).
- Add your noodles to your boiling water, and cook until soft.
- When your mushrooms have softened, add your scallions to your wok, and stir to combine.
- Drain your noodles, and add them to your wok. Then, drizzle in some sesame oil and more soy sauce.
- Toss your noodles with your veggies to fully incorporate.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
