Miso Enoki Bacon, a.k.a. Fungi in Blankets!
As exotic as the name might sound, this delicious side dish only requires literally those few main ingredients – Miso, Enoki mushrooms and Bacon.
It all started with Christmas – it always starts with Christmas – Casa du Duchess prepared a dinner for twelve with some classic dishes. We had the whole turkey, Brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, pigs in blanket etc. Since my boyfriend will NOT let me touch the turkey (he always gets the best dish, pfft), I was in charge of coming up with the rest. I wanted to try something different, cause pigs in blankets can be a little too…. gross satiating. So I decided to switch it up – FUNGI in Blankets! I think it sounds adorable. Rather than having too much meat on meat, I divided the bacon streaks into 3 batches and wrapped them with pork sausages, asparagus and Enoki mushrooms.
At that time, I was experimenting a lot with miso, from making miso soup based noodles to frying vegetables in miso and marinating fish overnight. It was quite a revelation on how delish miso is. This traditional Japanese seasoning paste can be described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savory. UMAMI!
As it’s a fermented food like kimchi, miso is rich in essential minerals, vitamins and “friendly” bacteria (hello! 🙂 ) that helps us to stay healthy. No wonder Japan is one of the healthiest countries in the world – they drink miso soup like every single day. It makes miso envious! Ok, bad pun. Anyway, I reckon that a Miso Series is imminent. 😀
There is a slight hiccup to this side dish which is its slightly higher salt content. Bacon by itself can be quite salty, especially the smoked ones. Together with miso, this dish will naturally taste a little saltier than normal dishes. Just something to keep in mind as you prepare the dish, so that you do not season with salt. I usually prefer to get unsmoked bacon strips as my taste buds seem to be extra sensitive when it comes to salty dishes.
Miso Enoki Bacon, a.k.a. Fungi in Blankets!
Ingredients
- 12 Bacon streaks , unsmoked
- 230 g Enoki mushrooms , roots trimmed
- 3 tbsp Miso paste
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 1 tbsp Sake (optional)
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the trimmed enoki mushrooms with a strainer. Gently pat dry with a kitchen towel. Put the mushrooms into a bowl or a container. With your hands, lightly rub the miso paste, mirin, sugar and sake into the mushrooms. Cover with cling film or a container lid and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. You can leave this overnight. *
- Preheat the oven to 210 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking tray with aluminium foil.
- Set the mushrooms on and perpendicular to the bacon streak slices. Roll up into tight cylinders and secure with toothpicks. Season with pepper.
- Roast the blankets in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the bacon is browned and crisp. Drain the bundles on paper towels, remove the toothpicks and serve. Or keep the toothpicks on for the “appetizer look”. 🙂
Notes
