Oyster Mushroom

Know this

Seriously, look it up. This is one of the few fungi that eats animals. When it needs nitrogen the oyster mushroom grows tiny structures that paralyze roundworms in the soil, then digests them. You are eating a predator that happens to look like a shelf of petals. It is also the most forgiving mushroom on the shelf: cheap, cultivated everywhere, and it crisps at the edges better than anything else in the case. Buy clusters with firm dry edges and no yellowing, and skip any that are curling and leathery. Chef secret: tear it, never slice it. Pull the cluster apart into strips by hand so every ragged edge catches the pan.

Cook

Hot dry pan first, no fat, until the water is out and the pan goes quiet. Then oil, and let the edges go dark and crisp before anything else joins them.

Season

Cultivated all year. Wild ones show up in fall and again in spring.

Best pairings

butter · garlic · thyme · soy · shallot · cream

Also worth trying: parsley, lemon, white wine, sesame, chili, scallion, miso, leek, egg, polenta.

Recommended wine