March 6, 2022
Dried Porcini Mushrooms
Katja, my friend in the North Karelia district of Finland gifted me with a jar of foraged and home-dried porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis) when I visited her in September.
These aromatic chips are delicious as they are. This day, I had a craving for a bowl of hot udon noddles topped with sauteed pak choi and vegan dashi simmered porchini.
Pak Choi
I buy almost all of my fresh Asian vegetables from Aseanic Trading in Kallio, Helsinki. I heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and sautee rinsed and chopped leafy greens until they are “bright” green.
Udon
This is simple. Just like cooking spaghetti, boil a potful of water and cook dried noodles according to a package direction. Do not over cook. Drain. Set aside
Vegetarian Cooking Broth
Soak dried Porcini in enough water to make broth and store in a fridge over night. Heat the broth and mushrooms in a sauce pan. Add spices and black peppers to taste.
Portion the cooked udon in a medium side bowl, top it with the pak choi and porcini and garnish with chopped scallions.
Enjoy!