Tag: lion’s mane

Shiitake and Lion’s Mane with Udon

13 August 2026

The combination of Lion’s Mane and Shiitake brings lots of umami. It pairs wonderfully with the aromatic ginger, the udon and the soy sauce. The Lion’s Mane is fried and slightly crispy. The overall flavour of the dish is long and complex. The Shiitake is essential in the sauce and the fried Lion’s Mane brings depth and texture. Simple and delicious!

Udon is very popular in Japan and Korea. It’s made with wheat flour, water and salt. It can be served hot or cold. Different from Italian pasta, you don’t need to add salt to the cooking water. Furthermore the noodle has to be rinsed with cold water before using it in a dish, which is an absolute no-go in Italian cuisine.

Wine Pairing

The obvious choice would be a white wine, one with some floral notes and sweetness. However, the taste of the fried lion’s mane allows you to serve a red wine. We enjoyed a glass of Bardolino, made by Monte del Frà from Italy. The grapes used are Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. It is a well-balanced, vibrant red wine with lots of fruit and a hint of spices. Medium acidity.
In general, you’re looking for a refreshing red wine with lots of fruit that should be served slightly chilled (15°C – 17°C  or 59°F – 63°F).

What You Need
  • 75 grams of Shiitake
  • 75 grams of Lion’s Mane
  • 1 bunch of Udon (90 grams)
  • 2 cm fresh Ginger
  • 2 teaspoons of Soy Sauce (reduced salt)
  • 1 teaspoon of Oyster Sauce
  • Vegetable Stock
  • 1 tablespoon of (Marukin) Concentrated Dashi Stock
  • 2 teaspoons of Sesame Oil
  • (Olive) Oil
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Clean the shiitake with kitchen paper and remove the stems
  2. Slice the shiitake
  3. Clean the lion’s mane by removing discoloured and/or soft parts
  4. Slice the lion’s mane (1 cm or 0.5 in)
  5. Peel the ginger and chop finely
  6. Cook the udon according to the instruction on the package in boiling water (no salt needed)
  7. Heat a heavy iron pan, add some oil and fry the shiitake, reduce heat
  8. Add ginger
  9. After a few minutes add vegetable stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce and concentrated dashi stock to the pan with the shiitake
  10. Add oil to a second heavy iron skillet and fry the lion’s mane until golden
  11. When the udon is ready, drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water
  12. Add the udon to the pan with the shiitake and the sauce, combine and adjusts
  13. Perhaps you need to add some extra vegetable stock
  14. Warm through and through
  15. Add black pepper
  16. Taste and adjust
  17. Just before serving add some sesame oil
  18. Plate up and serve the lion’s mane on top of the dish
PS

We love using Marukin Concentrated Dashi Stock in combination with udon and mushrooms. You can make your own by adding some mirin and soy sauce to a cup of strong dashi.

Shiitake and Lion's Mane with Udon ©cadwu made with ginger, soy sauce, dashi, mirin and sesame oil
Shiitake and Lion’s Mane with Udon ©cadwu

Lion’s Mane

28 May 2026

If you search for Lion’s Mane mushrooms, you will find lots of references to supplements with wonderful health benefits, ranging from supporting longevity to improved cognitive functions. It’s also supposed to have antibiotic, anti-fatigue and anti-ageing properties. Sounds great, but how do the fresh mushrooms taste?

Lion’s Mane (also known as Yamabushitake and Hou Tou Gu) is a mushroom native to North America, Asia and Europe. Their flavour and texture sets them apart from many other mushrooms. A bit sweet, mild, some umami, subtle, a hint of seafood (crab, lobster). The texture meaty and elastic with a unique structure thanks to the spines.

Alan Bergo (the Forager Chef) uses them to make crab cakes. He writes: This is one of my all-time favorites. I guarantee this is so good, some people may not be able to tell it’s a crabcake made from mushrooms instead of crab.

We thought it would be nice to make a dish with various flavours, allowing us to taste the mushroom on its own, but also with the Tomato Confit and Polenta. Combining it with tomato enhanced the flavour of the mushroom and made it more complex (sweet, sour, umami, aromatic). The combination with Polenta was nice, perhaps because of the various textures.

Wine Pairing

Grüner Veltliner is a wine typical for Austria, with flavours such as lime, grapefruit and white pepper. We enjoyed a glass of Grüner Veltliner, made by Eisacktal Valle Isarco, from the Alto Adige region in Italy. It is fruity, fresh and slightly spicy with clear acidity. Very nice with the flavours in the dish. In general we suggest a fresh, dry white wine with hints of green apple and/or citrus. 

What You Need
  • Mushrooms
    • 100 grams of Lion’s Mane
    • Olive Oil
  • Polenta
    • Polenta
    • Vegetable Stock (optional)
    • Parmesan Cheese
    • Thyme
  • Tomatoes
    • Tomatoes
    • Thyme
    • Rosemary
    • Garlic
    • Olive Oil
What You Do
  1. Day before
    1. Cook (in vegetable stock) the polenta according to the package until ready
    2. Add some Parmesan cheese and thyme
    3. Pour the polenta on a plate and smooth it into an even layer (1,5 centimetres) with a spatula
    4. Cool to room temperature
    5. Cover with foil
    6. Transfer to the refrigerator for use the next day.
  2. A few hours before
    1. Wash and dry the tomatoes and add these to a baking dish
    2. Chop the garlic
    3. Add herbs, garlic and a generous amount of olive oil to the dish
    4. Put in the oven for something like 2 hours on 90 °C or 200 °F
    5. Baste the tomatoes once or twice
    6. Don’t forget to use the cooking liquid as well, it’s another pack of flavours!
  3. Preheat your oven to 65 °C or 150 °F
  4. Turn out the polenta onto a cutting board
  5. Cut it into a shape you like (strips, triangles, circles)
  6. Fry in relatively hot olive oil in a non-stick pan until golden, probably 2*5 minutes. 
  7. In parallel clean the mushroom and slice (not too thin)
  8. Fry in olive oil until golden brown, probably 2*2 minutes
  9. Transfer to the oven
  10. Leave for 5 minutes in the oven
  11. Add just a hint of black pepper to the mushrooms before serving.
  12. Assemble and serve on a warm plate.
PS

Best to buy young mushrooms, the size of a tennis ball.

Fried Lion's Mane ©cadwu served with fried polenta and confit of tomato
Slice of Lion's Mane Mushroom ©cadwu
Lion's Mane Mushroom ©cadwu