Easy Mushroom Seasoning
This Easy Homemade Mushroom Seasoning has the truffle nuttiness of mushroom and the umami sweetness of baby shrimp and laver. Season your broth or stir frys with it and enjoy the wonderful tasty umami flavors preservative free. Truly homemade is the best.
Servings: 3 x 200ml bottles
Ingredients
- 200 g dried mushrooms
- 80 g dried baby shrimp (non salted)
- 30 g dried laver (ready-to-use)
Instructions
- Double rinse the mushrooms and soak in water until softened. Drain the mushrooms dry. Squeeze out excess water from each mushroom and then snip it into small strips. Place the mushroom strips onto a baking tray lined with parchment. Toast the mushroom strips in the oven @180C for ~ 75 min until the mushroom strips are dry and snap easily.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for an hour. In the meantime, toast the baby shrimp and laver @160C for 5 to 10 min in the oven. Once fragrant, remove and set aside to cool.
- Place the dried mushroom strips into the blender and blend it until completely pulverised. Pour it out into a large size bowl. Then do the same for the toasted baby shrimp and laver. (Note: to be kind to my blender, I like to process all these ingredients in 3 to 4 batches) Once the toasted ingredients are completely milled, mix them together and your homemade mushroom seasoning is done.
Notes
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3 Simple Steps
Step #1
Prep mushrooms (soak, drain, snip) and toast in the oven @180C for ~ 75 min until dry & brittle.
Step #2
Toast the baby shrimp and laver at 160C for 5 to 10 min until fragrant.
Step #3
Blitz the toasted ingredients in 3-4 batches in the blender until finely milled. Mix well and bottle tightly.
#1 Use the right equipment
You need a solid bottom blade blender. The usual food processor with the detachable blades does not work. I thought it could do the job but it failed .. miserably. Use the blender with its solid bottom blade to grind the ingredients. To be kind to our blender, I would strongly suggest to blend all the ingredients in 3-4 batches or even more, if you are doing in larger quantities.
If I feel my blender heating up after a couple of batches, I would usually switch it off and let it rest for a while before resuming. Once the ingredients are completely milled, combine them by hand in a large mixing bowl before bottling.
#2 Remove excess water
Squeeze excess water from each mushroom as much as possible before cutting into strips. This will help them to dry out more easily when they are toasted in the oven. You can also fry the mushrooms in a large pan on the stove until it’s dried out but I find that too tedious as one needs to be constantly flipping the mushrooms and keeping an eye on the fire. I like to work my machines; hence I always use the oven to toast and dry out the mushrooms strips. It is hassle free and allows me to chill with a nice cuppa tea or coffee whilst waiting.
#3 Ingredients/Substitutes
I like to use premium dried shitake mushrooms to make this Easy Mushroom Seasoning as the truffle and woodiness flavors are stronger and have more depth. The mushroom is the main ingredient so use good quality mushrooms for the best flavor.
For the other ingredients, I use non salted dried baby shrimp and for the laver, I go for good quality ready-to-use seaweed laver which does not require washing. You can easily use ikan bilis or dried anchovies instead of dried baby shrimp and/or substitute the laver with dried kelp to change up the flavors. How much to use? A little more, a little less? I say go with your preference for the flavors you love.
#4 Saltiness
This Easy Mushroom Seasoning is packed with natural sweetness and nuttiness of mushroom, baby shrimp and laver but please note, it is NOT salty. Therefore when you are using this mushroom seasoning for your soup or broth, do add a little soy sauce or salt to taste according to your preference. Along with the saltiness, this mushroom seasoning will add complexity and nice undertones of umami and sweet nuttiness to broths/soups and elevate the flavors overall.
#5 Storage
I pack my Easy Mushroom Seasoning into bottles with a desiccant pack each to keep it fresh. Store them at room temperature away from direct sunlight and they keep well for 3-4 months.
Step #2
Toast the baby shrimp and laver at 160C for 5 to 10 min until fragrant.
Step #3
Blitz the toasted ingredients in 3-4 batches in the blender until finely milled. Mix well and bottle tightly.
#1 Use the right equipment
You need a solid bottom blade blender. The usual food processor with the detachable blades does not work. I thought it could do the job but it failed .. miserably. Use the blender with its solid bottom blade to grind the ingredients. To be kind to our blender, I would strongly suggest to blend all the ingredients in 3-4 batches or even more, if you are doing in larger quantities.
If I feel my blender heating up after a couple of batches, I would usually switch it off and let it rest for a while before resuming. Once the ingredients are completely milled, combine them by hand in a large mixing bowl before bottling.
#2 Remove excess water
Squeeze excess water from each mushroom as much as possible before cutting into strips. This will help them to dry out more easily when they are toasted in the oven. You can also fry the mushrooms in a large pan on the stove until it’s dried out but I find that too tedious as one needs to be constantly flipping the mushrooms and keeping an eye on the fire. I like to work my machines; hence I always use the oven to toast and dry out the mushrooms strips. It is hassle free and allows me to chill with a nice cuppa tea or coffee whilst waiting.
#3 Ingredients/Substitutes
I like to use premium dried shitake mushrooms to make this Easy Mushroom Seasoning as the truffle and woodiness flavors are stronger and have more depth. The mushroom is the main ingredient so use good quality mushrooms for the best flavor.
For the other ingredients, I use non salted dried baby shrimp and for the laver, I go for good quality ready-to-use seaweed laver which does not require washing. You can easily use ikan bilis or dried anchovies instead of dried baby shrimp and/or substitute the laver with dried kelp to change up the flavors. How much to use? A little more, a little less? I say go with your preference for the flavors you love.
#4 Saltiness
This Easy Mushroom Seasoning is packed with natural sweetness and nuttiness of mushroom, baby shrimp and laver but please note, it is NOT salty. Therefore when you are using this mushroom seasoning for your soup or broth, do add a little soy sauce or salt to taste according to your preference. Along with the saltiness, this mushroom seasoning will add complexity and nice undertones of umami and sweet nuttiness to broths/soups and elevate the flavors overall.
#5 Storage
I pack my Easy Mushroom Seasoning into bottles with a desiccant pack each to keep it fresh. Store them at room temperature away from direct sunlight and they keep well for 3-4 months.