MOUEEL
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funguspeppery · woodsy · toasted · brothy · forest floor

Maitake

Roast the clump whole until the frilled edges go to crisp lace, then salt it and stop.

on its own
0.0sour
1.0sweet
2.0savoury
1.0bitter
4.0umami
order · canon first

1 of these 13 are wild — theory says yes, nobody has cooked them. why →

13 pairings for Maitake.

Butter

common

The frills are surface area. Butter finds all of it and browns it.

Soy sauce

common

Brushed on late so the sugars char at the edges instead of steaming.

Dashi

common

It gives more to the broth than any other fresh mushroom does.

Dark meat and dark fungus, same roasting time, same shared thiols.

Redundant on paper: the mushroom is already peppery. Push it further.

Duck fat

uncommon

Higher smoke point than butter, so the lace crisps before it burns.

Sake

uncommon

Steamed in it, the woodsy note goes floral instead of dusty.

White miso

uncommon

Sweet ferment glazes the clump and fills its thin middle register.

Brown butter

uncommon

Nutty solids catch in the frills; each bite gets a different dose.

Numbing citrus against a peppery mushroom. Two peppers, neither is one.

Deglaze with it. Charred oak vanillin sits under the roast perfectly.

Roasted stem tea, roasted fungus, same pyrazines. Brew it into the stock.