Fried Enoki Mushrooms Recipe on Food52 (2024)

I love crispy vegetables, from oven-roasted kale and deep-fried lotus root chips to sweet potato fries and tempura-ed okra. Lately, my obsession lies with enoki mushrooms. These delicate, needle-like mushrooms popular in Japanese and Korean cooking are subtly sweet and comfortingly chewy when cooked in soups and stews—but when deep-fried, they take on a different disposition. After a brief bath in hot oil, the delicate tendrils of the mushroom will turn into crisp shards and its batter-coated stem will firm up. When bitten into, the crust will shatter, giving way to the tender mushroom-meat within.

While deep-frying can sometimes be a daunting, laborious task at home—with the hot oil’s penchant to splatter and the more complex cleanup—these enokis fry within a couple minutes, with minimal mess. Stir up a quick batter, dunk in thinly sliced mushrooms, and drop them in hot oil. Within a minute or two, they’ll take on a golden hue, and the needle-like caps will get that craggy crunch you’re looking for.

Once fried and showered with good old salt and pepper, I’d highly recommend giving the mushroom a touch more character with a light dusting of homemade mala spice powder. It gives it a fragrant piquancy that makes you yearn for more. —Jun

Directions

1. Make the mala spice seasoning: Place the Sichuan peppercorns, paprika, cumin, and coriander seeds into a medium skillet, and heat on medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes, until the spices start to pop, or when you see the first signs of smoke from the pan. Transfer the spices to a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle) and grind until the mixture becomes a fine powder.
2. Prepare the mushrooms: Trim off the brownish roots of the enoki mushrooms, then very thinly slice the mushroom bundle lengthwise through the base into thin slabs.
3. In a wide (preferably flat-bottomed) bowl or pie plate, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, kosher salt, white pepper, garlic powder, and 3/4 cup (180 milliliters) water into a smooth slurry, with no bits of flour remaining.
4. Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Pour the oil into a large, high-sided skillet or pot until the oil is 2 inches deep. Place the skillet over medium heat and heat the oil until it reaches 350°F.
5. Working with 2 to 3 slices of mushroom at a time, coat the mushrooms into the batter, lifting to let any excess batter drip off, and gently drop the mushrooms into the oil. Deep-fry the mushrooms for about 2 minutes, flipping halfway, until the mushrooms are a deep golden color and the tops of the mushrooms turn crisp and crackly (the batter may remain pale or may take on a bit of color). Remove the mushrooms from the oil with a pair of chopsticks or tongs onto the prepared sheet pan. Working in batches, repeat with the remaining mushrooms.
6. Season the fried mushrooms with fine sea salt and the mala spice seasoning, then serve immediately, with ketchup, mayonnaise, or chile sauce if using.