Sometimes simple is best, and this dish proves it. My delicious side dish hits on a winning formula- a recipe that packs a lot of flavor but is also super quick to make. This allows me to make several dishes for dinner, which provides lots of exciting textures and colors, but also includes a little something for everyone.

Focusing on delicious foods in season is always best, but what happens when you’re in between seasons or you just can’t take any more pumpkin, cabbage, asparagus, etc. Having a season-less dish, like this one, up your sleeve is always handy. This Enoki in Brown Butter Sauce has an amazingly rich flavor, requires only 5 ingredients, and is ready in 10 minutes! And of course they are a wonderful side dish for meat or fish, but I also like to whip them up with 2-3 other super fast vegetarian dishes and enjoy a meatless feast!

Enoki Mushrooms

Enoki mushrooms are enjoyed all the time in Japan. They have a very mild, almost sweet flavor. Plus they are really cool looking! Since they aren’t eaten that much in the states, you may have to go to an Asian market to find them. Look for creamy white to light yellow stalks. Avoid any packages that appear to be slimy or moist. Enoki have a long shelf life, and fresh ones should last in your fridge up to two weeks or even longer.

Enoki mushrooms are usually packaged in plastic, and they have a thick growing medium that looks like roots that need to be removed before using. You just cut off that part and then separate the enoki into little clumps.

Browned Butter

Browning butter is a quick way to create a deeply flavored, almost nutty, sauce in minutes. Traditionally, butter gets melted until foamy and you can see milk solids start to separate. Those solids start off white but then brown as they cook. The pan is swirled to keep the browning even, with a careful eye to make sure the butter doesn’t go from brown to burnt.

But I’ve learned an even faster restaurant hack to browned butter for this recipe: start with a very hot pan, add the butter and let it foam, and then add the enoki. The butter will brown as you stir-fry the mushrooms, and the cooking time will be just about 3 minutes in total.

Continue cooking and stirring until the enoki softens and browns in spots. This is a very quick process, about a minute. You do not want to fully cook the mushrooms until they are soft and mushy. Your goal is to cook them 3/4 of the way, where you will have some mushrooms that are soft and other larger clumps that still hold their shape and texture. Because of the high heat, the butter along with the mushrooms will continue to cook and brown. Make sure you are moving the mushrooms around constantly to ensure even cooking. Season generously with salt and pepper as the mushrooms will put out a bit of water that dilutes the flavor.

And then I top them with scallions and serve. Chives would be lovely as well.

An Inspired Asian Veggie Meal

Since it takes less than 10 minutes (!) to make these Enoki in Brown Butter Sauce, I like to make several similarly fast vegetables dishes and make a whole meatless feast. Braised Burdock, Spicy Funky Green Beans, and Spicy Tofu are all super fast, and make for a colorful and exciting meal. It may be a cliché, but with this much variety of flavors and textures, you won’t even miss the meat. And a bowl of perfect rice is always welcome.

Make these Enoki in Brown Butter and let me know what you think! Leave a message below, and tag us in your #veganfeast instagram posts at @funkyasiankitchen.

Enoki in Brown Butter Sauce

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: side
• Cuisine: Pan-Asian

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Ingredients

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• 14 ounces enoki mushrooms (2 packages)
• 2 tablespoons butter*
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 scallion (finely chopped)

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Instructions

1. Open the packages of enoki and trim away about 1-inch of the root section. Use your fingers to tear the enoki mushrooms into small bite size bundles.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes, then add the butter and cook for 1 minute until the butter has completely melted and is starting to foam. 
3. Raise the heat to high and add the enoki. Use tongs or chopsticks to coat the enoki with the butter. Cook for 1 minute until the enoki is slightly wilted and a little browned in spots. Taste for seasoning, adding fresh ground black pepper and salt as needed.
4. Plate the mushrooms and serve, garnishing with the scallion.

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Notes

*to make vegan, use vegan butter (Miyokos makes one that browns beautifully)