Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

Stuffed King Oyster Mushrooms

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Here’s kind of a throwaway experimental recipe.

Stuffed mushroom caps are, of course, really good. But what if you want an appetizer that’s a little more robust? Enter king oyster mushrooms. Hollow one of these out, stuff it with seasoned ground pork and you’ve got a weird, but good, appetizer.

These probably aren’t for everyone, and they don’t present the most attractively, but, hey, they’re an option.

Sides hollowed out for the stuffing. They’re not pretty.

Ends hollowed out for stuffing. Even less pretty.

Stuffed and ready for the oven.

Stuffed and ready for the oven.

What you’ll need

  • Three large king oyster mushrooms
  • 2 oz. ground pork
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3T cilantro, chopped
  • 1 or 2t Korean barbecue sauce

What to do

Begin heating your oven to 375 degrees F.

For lateral shrooms, trim off the top and hollow out the side of the mushroom with a knife and melon baller (see photo). When done trim the opposite side of the hollow so the shroom lies without wobbling. Chop up the removed sections of mushroom for the stuffing.

For on-end mushrooms, it’s a little trickier. Slice off one end of the mushroom so it can stand on that end. Cut off the mushroom top at a 90-degree angle to the shaft. Depending on how long the mushroom is, you may want to just cut it in half. To hollow it out, use a fish-boning knife or a similarly shallow-bladed knife to slice down from the inside edge of the circumference at an inward angle. Do this around the circumference of the mushroom. Once done, you should be able to carefully pry out a cone of mushroom. From there, just cut straight down around the inside circumference until you’re able to pry out a good-size cavity. It will take a bit of patience, but it’s not hard. Cho up the removed sections of mushrooms for the stuffing.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the ground chopped mushroom pieces, ground pork, garlic, cilantro and Korean barbecue sauce, then stuff the mushrooms with it. Bake at 375 degrees F until the inside of the pork stuffing is 165 degrees (cooked through). Remove the shrooms from the oven and let them cool a bit before serving. They will shed some water as they cool.

Rested and cooled a bit before serving.

Rice paper dumplings

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Here’s a messy, somewhat chaotic and poorly executed dish that tastes great.

These are essentially a Thai-style gyoza using rice paper as a wrap for the meat and veggies. The flaw lies in the fragility of the rice paper. To make these more robust, they’d benefit from a double layer of rice paper.

Note that the meat takes a bit to cook, so ensure you cook these enough on each side. The interior should reach 165 degrees F.

This recipe makes just a few dumplings. Adjust quantities, as needed, to make a bigger batch.

Comparative size to a traditional gyoza.

What you’ll need

  • 2 oz lean ground pork
  • 1T chopped basil or cilantro
  • 2T enoki tops, or any other finely chopped mushrooms
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 0.25t fish sauce
  • 2 8-inch rice paper sheets for every dumpling you plan to make
  • Neutral oil for shallow frying

What to do

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients but the rice paper sheets and oil. You can use your hands for this, but don’t over-mix because it will make the meat tough.

Prep your work area by filling a large bowl with lukewarm water and placing it next to a clean countertop or cutting board. To assemble a dumpling, dip a sheet of rice paper into the water for about 5 seconds. Gently remove it from the water and lay it on the cutting board as flat as you can. Presuming you’re double-wrapping, repeat with an additional sheet. Add about 2T of the pork mixture to the center of the wrapping.

Carefully fold down from the top of the wrapper over the meat and up from the bottom of the wrapper over the meat. It will look messy, unless you’re really good at doing this. Next fold over the right and left sides over the meat, essentially making a square packet. Gently push it somewhat flat. Repeat for each dumpling you’re making.

To cook, pour about 0.25”-deep neutral oil into a nonstick frypan and heat it to about 350 degrees F. Gently place the dumplings into the oil, being careful not to splash hot oil or crowd them in the pan. Cover the pan and cook for about 3 minutes before removing the cover and cooking for a further 2 or 3 minutes. Carefully turn each dumpling over and cook for about 4 more minutes, until the center of the meat has reached 165 degrees F. Remove the dumplings to a paper-towel-lined plate and let them cool for a minute before serving warm with spring roll sauce.

Ready to fold up the dumpling.
Top and bottom folded over. Yeah, doesn’t look very neat.
Sides folded over and ready for cooking.

Vietnamese Pork Belly Stir Fry

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Pork belly! That’s about all one needs to write about this recipe, though I’ll expound a little. This is a quick stir-fry that goes well with jasmine rice or fried noodles. If you want to skip the fatty—but utterly delicious—pork belly, you could substitute in an equal amount of pork tenderloin, which is nearly impossible to make tough.

There are really no secrets to making this, other than not overcooking the meat.

What you’ll need

  • 2T neutral oil
  • 2 lbs. pork belly, cut into one-inch cubes (pork tenderloin would work, too)
  • 1.5 oz (40g) palm sugar (any type of dark sugar would actually work)
  • 1T honey
  • 1T soy sauce (this generally has wheat as an ingredient, though gluten-free is available)
  • 2T fish sauce
  • 2T rice vinegar
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
  • Zest of one lime, finely grated with a microplane
  • 2T lime juice (preferably from the lime you just microplaned)
  • 1 – 2 Thai chilis, seeded and julienned
  • A few cilantro sprigs (optional)
  • Crispy fried shallots, for serving (optional)

What to do

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, garlic and lime juice. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or frypan over high heat. When the wok is heated, add the pork and cook until it’s nearly cooked through—about 10 minutes. Remove the wok from the heat and remove the pork to a plate with a slotted spoon. Set aside.

With the wok on medium heat, add the liquid mixture, bringing it to a light boil. Let it reduce until it becomes thick and sticky. Add the cooked pork to the wok, along with the grated lime zest, and thoroughly combine while the pork reheats.

To serve, add the pork to serving bowls and garnish it with cilantro and Thai chilis, with the shallots on the side for sprinkling on just before eating.