Skillet Mushrooms with Garlic Crumbs
Dried mushrooms rehydrated in the pot, then fried crisp with breadcrumbs and chili.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 2.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 168
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 300 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Snack
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried mushrooms | 1.5 oz | porcini, shiitake, or whatever you dried yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Panko breadcrumbs | 1/4 cup | |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Ghee or clarified butter | 1 tbsp | shelf-stable, unlike butter |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | or 2 cloves if you are carrying them |
| Crushed red pepper | 1 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Pour 300 ml of boiled water over the dried mushrooms in a mug or bag. Wait ten minutes until they are pliable.
- Squeeze the mushrooms out over the mug. Keep the soaking liquid to drink or to build a broth later.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil and the ghee in the pot over a medium flame. Add the mushrooms and cook eight to ten minutes, stirring, until the last of the water is gone and the edges brown.
- Season with salt and pepper. Push the mushrooms to one side, add the last tbsp of oil and the panko, and stir until the crumbs go gold.
- Stir in the garlic powder, thyme, and red pepper. Thirty seconds, off the heat.
- Eat straight from the pot while the crumbs are still crisp.
The original is a skillet dish built on fresh wild mushrooms, which do not travel. Dried mushrooms do, and they concentrate the flavor into something a quarter of the weight. The trade is time: ten minutes of soaking, then a longer fry to drive off the water they just absorbed. That browning is the whole point, so do not rush it.
The crumbs are texture, not filler. They go in last, in fat, on their own patch of pot, because panko added to wet mushrooms just turns to paste. Butter is swapped for ghee since it keeps without a cooler. Save the soaking liquid — it is the best broth you will get in camp for free.
Packing
Mushrooms in one bag, panko in another, spices premixed in a third. Panko crushes to dust if you pack it under anything heavy, so it rides on top.
Variations
- Spoon it over instant polenta or couscous to turn a side into a full dinner.
- A pouch of tuna stirred in at the end adds 20 g of protein.
- Skip the ghee and use all olive oil to make it vegan.
https://foragerchef.com/wild-mushrooms-with-breadcrumbs-garlic-and-chili