Oyster Mushroom and Chiku-wa Stir-fly with Yuzu-kosho 平茸と竹輪の柚子胡椒炒め

I realized I got a package of fresh “Hira-take 平茸” or oyster mushrooms from Weee a week ago and decided to use it up. I came across this recipe using chikuwa 竹輪 fish case and “Maitake 舞茸” hen-of-the-wood. Since I had a package of frozen chikuwa which was getting old, this seemed a perfect recipe except I had oyster mushrooms instead of hen-of-the-woods. Although we also got hen-of-the-woods mushroom at the same time as the oyster mushrooms, I used them in a dish with sage brown butter, and we finished it somedays ago. No problem, I figured the oyster mushrooms should work just as well for this recipe. We especially liked the idea of adding yuzu-kosho 柚子胡椒  (one of our favorites) into the seasoning. Although oyster mushrooms themselves don’t have a strong flavor, the combination of chikuwa and yuzu-kosho worked well. Depending on how strongly you season this dish, this can be a good drinking snack or an accompaniment for rice.

Ingredients:

1 package (6oz) of oyster mushrooms, the root-end removed and separated
6 small chikuwa fishcakes, thawed and cut on the slant into bite sized pieces
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 tbs oil

Seasoning: (mix all ingredients below in a small bowl)
2 tbs x4 concentrated Japanese noodle sauce
2 tbs mirin
1/2 tsp (or more) Yuzu kosho

Directions:
Add the oil to the frying pan on medium flame, add the mushrooms and the fish cake and stir for 1-2 minutes
Add the seasonings and stir for 1 minute
Add the scallions 

The chikuwa itself has some sweetness and the seasonings are a bit on the sweet side as well. Either using soy sauce instead of the noodle sauce and/or reducing the amount of mirin would be better next time. I would also add a dab of yuzu-kosho on the side in case additional seasoning to what is in the sauce is desired.