Went to my go-to Sunday farmer’s market for a quick walkabout lunch and found these strange mushrooms. Lion’s mane mushrooms.
I’d never seen them before. They looked more like cute little furry animals you buy home to keep as pets.
This is why I like farmer’s markets. You get introduced to all kinds of different and exotic foods. At least I think they are food. They offer novelty stuff you don’t get from your neighborhood grocer.
The small stall had all kinds of mushrooms, some rather colorful ones, but I didn’t even look at the others (hence no photos) once the white baby bunny lookalikes grabbed my attention.
What are they? The young man selling them told me they were his favorite mushrooms. He said they had a hint of seafood flavor.
So I decided to get over my bias and give it a shot. What’s the worst that could happen. Just dump it away?
We had planned on steak that night and did think of using portabellas. The seller selected three larger lion’s mane mushrooms for me. He said for sliced mushrooms, big ones are better than tiny ones. I got several portabellas, in case bunnykins didn’t work out. I already had some button mushrooms at home. Grabbed a handful of new potatoes, a couple of heads of broccoli and purple spring onion. We were set.
Later I looked up lion’s mane mushroom and discovered they have been used in TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) for centuries. Of course. If it’s wierd, we–the Chinese–have used it in herbal medicines. I’ve worked with Ted’s uncle on TCM selling herbal supplements but never came across these. Cordyceps and flying fox poop (for period pains), yes, but not lion’s mane mushrooms.
In Chinese they are called hou tou gu, which sounds even less inviting that lion’s mane. Hou tou is monkey’s head. Eek. Nope, they’re bunnies to me. These cute little things grow on trees. Now who was the first daring one who picked them off the tree to eat it?
Lion’s mane mushrooms are known for their nutritive value, supposed to be good for improving brain function and memory. And of course, everything claims to be antioxidant. Who knows?
To prep the mushrooms I rinsed them very lightly, wiped them dry, trimmed off the brown stuff underneath before slicing them. The seller was right. A large mushroom offered good, generous slices.
Then I just sauteed them, per the instructions from the seller. When frying, I didn’t toss them around too much, worried the fuzz would fall out. Instead I left them on one side, moved the pan around to slide the mushrooms over the hot surface until they were lightly brown.
They were delicious. Ted and I thought they tasted more flavorful than regular white, button mushrooms. But did it give me improved brain function? I don’t remember.
Sauteed Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes
3-4 heads of lion’s mane mushroom, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
Clean and slice mushrooms as described above.
In a frying pan, heat butter till bubbly. Add mushroom. Fry or shake pan to move mushrooms around pan for a couple of minutes.
Flip mushroom over, lower heat and fry for another 2 minutes. When mushroom starts getting dried by the heat, dribble olive oil on the surface of the pan between the mushroom slices. Fry another 3-4 minutes until fuzzy parts get slightly browned.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.
