We've bought quite a few of these packs of enoki mushrooms (there's a recipe on that page, which I have lost count of how many times we have made it); I like them very much as mushrooms go. I like that they are very local, grown in Burlington, and that they are therefore very fresh. You can find these in most Chinese supermarkets here in Mississauga. Usually, they run about 2 containers for $2.50, or even less.
We picked these up from a fellow at the north end of the Sunday Square One Farmer's Market (he might only come on Sundays). He grows them organically in a place five minutes from Shelburne, Ontario, east of Toronto. He also had blue and regular oyster mushrooms, these looked the most interesting. They tasted good later, in a vegetable-mushroom-spaghetti sauce.
Enoki mushrooms, Enokitake in Japanese, also called golden needle mushrooms, are very flavourful and can be used in a number of dishes. They keep fresh for about a week in the fridge, you can also buy them canned; fresh is definitely better. I've had them with hotpot, in stir-fries; they are mostly used in soups, and also in salads. I recently had them, because of an idea I saw in a Chinese Supermarket, in a omelette.
Enoki Mushroom OmeletteMix all ingredients together, then cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes on one side, until golden brown, flipping over for 1-2 minutes. Serve warm, with rice.
What to make with the dried Chantarelle mushrooms that I had? At the same time that I bought the chantarelles, I had bought some chorizo sausage, spicy pork sausage. I cut up the sausage into small pieces, and added it and several whole garlic cloves to about a tablespoon of melted butter in a frying pan, and fried the two together for about five minutes, stirring constantly. I then added the reconstituted chantarelle mushrooms (placed in water and rice milk for 20 minutes) and fried for an additional two to three minutes. Lastly, I added the Singapore-style noodles and tossed to combine. Quite tasty.
I had read about these mushrooms in various blogs, they are supposed to be quite tasty and aromatic, and quite popular and common in Europe, found in Autumn in the damp conifer woods of many countries, not so much in North America. Of course, the best mushrooms would be ones freshly picked, but given that I don't have a ready source of them, then dried is likely second best, and I found these ones from Italy in the specialty store I frequent. With a little water or milk, and 20 minutes later, they are almost as good as fresh. Like most mushrooms, they are good in rice or pasta dishes, omelettes, and soups or stews. According to the package, they are also naturally rich in iron.
