The trick to tasty mushrooms is getting them brown while still keeping them a bit juicy — cooking over fairly high heat will do that. This recipe includes a tangy sauce that drapes over the mushrooms, making them a perfect side dish for meat or chicken. Delicious with short-grain brown rice as part of a vegetarian dinner, too. This recipe originally appeared in my cookbook, Fast, Fresh & Green.

Serves 4

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ketchup
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound Cremini (or baby bella) mushrooms, quartered if large, halved if small
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

 

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon water and set the bowl near the stove. Put a shallow serving dish near the stove as well.

2. In a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and the salt and stir right away. Continue stirring just until the mushrooms have absorbed all the fat.

3. Let the mushrooms sit undisturbed and cook for 2 minutes, then stir once. Don’t worry; the pan may look crowded and dry, but keep the heat up at medium high. Let sit and cook again, stirring infrequently (they will “squeak” when you stir them), until the mushrooms are shrunken, glistening, and some sides have developed a deep orange-brown color, 9 to 10 minutes (the bottom of the pan will be very brown).

4. Turn the heat to low and add the garlic and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Stir and cook until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk the soy sauce mixture again and very carefully add it to the pan. You’ll need to scrape out the brown sugar, but don’t stand directly over the pan as there will be sputtering. Stir and cook just until the liquids thicken slightly and coat the mushrooms, another 15 to 20 seconds. Quickly transfer the mushrooms to a shallow serving dish, scraping all of the sauce out of the pan with a rubber spatula. Let sit for a few minutes and serve warm.