Mushrooms absorb water very easily, so don’t expose them to too much water. If you don’t want to use water at all, you can use a toothbrush or mushroom brush to scrub off any debris. King oyster mushrooms usually aren’t very dirty, so you don’t have to do much to clean them. A quick rinse is usually enough. If you know that they were cleaned before they were packaged, you won’t have to clean them yourself.
When you get used to dealing with king oyster mushrooms, you won’t have to halve them before slicing them up. The halves are still easier to handle, but whole mushrooms are soft enough to slice up without much difficulty.
Sliced king oyster mushrooms are great when roasted in the oven or browned in a skillet. You could marinate them in teriyaki, for instance, and then fry them in an oiled skillet. The mushrooms can be cut thinner if you wish, but keep the slices all the same size so they cook at the same rate.
These small strips are great for tacos and any other recipe calling for shredded meat. They can be used as a vegetarian alternative to pulled pork, for instance. Another way to shred oyster mushrooms is by pinching the stem and pulling down toward its base.
The cap is edible, and there are many ways you can use it. For example, keep it in one piece and grill it with the stem. You could also cut it into smaller slices if your recipe calls for it. If you’re not planning on using the cap right away, you could store it for later. Put it in an open bag and cover it with a paper towel to use to make stock, for instance.
You could also cut stems diagonally. You might find them easier to cut diagonally, but you will still end up with consistent slices. Vary up the size of the slices depending on your recipe. If you’re grilling mushrooms to make kebabs, for instance, larger slices are fine, but smaller slices cook faster on a stove or in the oven. Small mushrooms rounds cut 1⁄8 in (0. 32 cm) wide or less are great when browned in a buttered pan or baked in an oven.
Halved mushrooms cook much faster and more evenly. They are also a little easier to score than ones sliced into rounds. You could cut off the mushroom caps if you don’t plan on cooking them right now. Remove them before slicing the mushrooms in half.
The score marks are similar to what you would do if you were cutting the mushrooms into slices, except you don’t cut all the way through them. You could also turn the mushrooms over to score the opposite side, but make sure you don’t cut all the way through it!
Scoring is great for any time when you want oyster mushrooms to absorb more moisture. For example, you could coat them with a sauce or glaze, and they will absorb more flavor than usual. Scored mushrooms are great on the grill, but they can also be browned in a pan or even roasted in the oven.
