If you’ve got some King Oyster Mushrooms and you want to know how to cook them, you’ve come to the right place! This is the perfect method for eating the mushrooms by themselves or as part of another recipe.
I’ll walk you through what king oyster mushrooms are and how to cook them. I love pan-frying them in a really simple way, which really highlights their firm, satisfying texture. This method is also great if you’ve heard about using these mushrooms as a vegetarian-friendly substitute for scallops!
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Are King Oyster Mushrooms?
King Oyster Mushrooms are also sometimes called King Trumpet Mushrooms or French Horn Mushrooms. They are native to the Mediterranean areas of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and are very popular in Asian food.
When raw, they are a fairly dry mushroom and so they don’t get slimy the way that some mushrooms do, or at least not as quickly. For this reason, I buy them all the time, even if I ‘m not sure how/when I’ll use them. They’ll be hanging out in my fridge waiting for when I want to make a quick snack, appetizer, or add some pizazz to a dinner.
When cooked, king oyster mushrooms have a firm texture that is almost, but not quite chewy. It’s very satisfying. If you’re not sure what I mean, it’s helpful to know that these mushrooms are sometimes used as a vegetarian substitute for scallops, because they have a similar texture and mouthfeel. See more about using king oyster mushrooms as a meat or seafood substitute below.
In terms of flavor, they have a mild mushroom flavor that tastes a bit earthy and nutty after cooking. Both the tops and the stems can be eaten. In general, they’re popular for their meaty texture and savory umami flavor.
Buying King Oyster Mushrooms
I first had these great mushrooms in Belgium where they were sold whole in most stores. I haven’t seen them whole in my regular grocery store here at home in the US though. Instead, my local grocery store serves them sliced already, as shown in the following photo. They come in a flat package with about 4-6 slices, wrapped in a layer of plastic that has some holes in them. And like I said above, because they’re a drier mushroom, that package keeps in my fridge for several days, and sometimes even a full week!
If you can’t find them at your grocery store, you may have more luck trying an Asian market or grocery store. They are also more likely to be sold whole there and look like the stock photo below.
Using Mushrooms As A Meat Substitute
King oyster mushrooms are sometimes used as a vegetarian version of scallops because of their white color, fairly thick round stem, and because they have a similar texture. If you want to use them as a scallop-substitute, try to get the mushrooms whole, and then slice the stems about a 3/4-inch widthwise (instead of the lengthwise image I showed you earlier), so that you get nice, round vegan medallions, that look like scallops.
The texture of the mushrooms when cooked is firm but yielding, and a tiny bit dense, so it is a good approximation for scallops. You’ll cook them as instructed below to get a nice sear on them.
How To Cook King Oyster Mushrooms
These mushrooms can be grilled or pan-fried. You can absolutely make a sauce for them but here for this recipe I’ve kept it very simple, a basic how-to cook, so that you can adapt it to whatever you’re making.
You can add fresh garlic and herbs, maybe some lemon, and use them in a pasta dish. You could use soy sauce and Asian flavors and use them as part of a stir-fry. Or, keep it simple like the recipe below and serve as a side dish. There’s tons of tasty options for these mushrooms.
How To Serve These Mushrooms
Since these are a new kind of mushroom for a lot of people, I find that they make a nice little appetizer plate, just as they are. A little chili crunch or chili oil served on the side for dipping, is a bonus. Everyone will be excited to give them a try!
As a side dish, they’re nice served as lengthwise slices along side meat, seafood or poultry. But what I usually do is to cook them as those large slices (pictured above), and then slice them into chunks after cooking them, to pile onto a seared steak. Alternatively, slicing them like medallions makes for a nice presentation next to or under steaks or chops.
As an entree, I’ve already explained above how to serve them as faux-scallops. You can also slice them into chunks and toss them with pasta and sauce or serve them over rice. Oh, and if you do thicker lengthwise slices, they make for AMAZING burger patties, kind of the way we do for Portobello Mushroom Burgers, you know? You’ll use 2-3 overlapping slices per burger. I cannot wait for you to try these!
More Mushroom Recipes
If you love this recipe and learning about mushrooms, be sure to give the following recipes a try too.
- Mushroom Rice Recipe
- Marinated Button Mushrooms
- Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- How to Use Dried Mushrooms
- Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms
Podcast Episode: Making Pan-Seared King Oyster Mushrooms
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Pan-Seared King Oyster Mushrooms Recipe
How to cook King Oyster Mushrooms perfectly, for a side dish, appetizer, or to add to another recipe.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 5–6 king oyster mushrooms slices*, about 1/3 inch thick
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot and butter is frothy. Stir.
- Add the mushrooms slices, pressing down on them to give good contact with the skillet.
- Cook until well-browned underneath, 2-3 minutes. Flip slices over, sprinkle lightly with salt and then continue to cook until browned on the bottom, another 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer mushrooms to a plate and serve as is or use in a recipe.
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Notes
*This is equivalent to about 2 whole king oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthwise. If slicing them widthwise to make medallions (like to use as vegan scallops), you’ll slice them a bit thicker, 3/4-inch. Then you’ll get about 4 per mushroom, depending on size. You will follow the recipe as written above, but they’ll need just an extra minute per side when cooking.
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