Crispy Enoki Mushroom Salad

Although most mushrooms are available all year round, I usually associate them with fall or winter dishes.

But this Asian style salad with enoki mushrooms is a very crispy, refreshing and excellent summer dish. It can be served with grilled meats or fish, especially those in Asian marinades. You can enrich it and even make a full meal of it by adding shrimps. It can also be eaten alone.

Enoki mushroom are very popular and always available at Asian food stores, which often also carry their organic version. Enoki mushrooms are most often served raw. They are said to have anti-cancer and immune enhancing properties and are also rich in niacin and iron.

For this particular recipe, enoki are marinated in vinegar, which makes them a little bit softer than they are raw. But, besides that, most of this salad's ingredients are very crispy so they contrast nicely with the enoki.

This salad is served with a special dressing. The original recipe calls for mayonnaise as one of the ingredients. In my version, I used only half of the required amount . But I believe that if you, like me, prefer oil dressing, mayonnaise can be skipped altogether without compromising on the salad's taste, especially that the sesame oil already adds a strong flavor to it.

Crispy Enoki Mushroom Salad

Ingredients:

For marinating mushrooms:
1/2 lb fresh enoki mushrooms,
1 cup rice vinegar,
1/4 cup sugar,
1 tbsp salt

For the salad:
1 Romain lettuce cut into thick strips,
1/2 English cucumber peeled off and sliced,
2 carrots, grated,
6-8 radishes sliced,
1 small red bell pepper cut in half, seeds removed, sliced,
1/2 cup cilantro leaves,
1/2 bunch spring onion sliced,
1 soft avocado, peeled, pitted and diced.

For dressing:
2 tbsp mayonnaise,
2 tbsp rice-wine vinegar,
1 tsp freshly grated ginger,
2 tbsp fresh orange juice,
1 tsp soy sauce,
1 tbsp sesame oil,
3-4 tbsp rice bran or grape seed oil,
1 tsp roasted, white sesame seeds,
1 tsp black sesame seeds,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. To marinate enoki mushrooms, cook vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pot until sugar dissolves. Place the mushrooms in a small bowl and pour the marinate over covering them entirely.

Let marinate the enoki overnight or even for up to 3 days. Drain the mushrooms on a colander before putting them in the salad.

2. To make the dressing, put all its ingredients in a small bowl and whisk gently.

3. To assembly the salad, put the vegetables and marinated mushrooms in a large bowl.

Pour the dressing on the salad. Toss gently all the ingredients and serve.