Chef Jeong-sun
Aehobak-namul (Seasoned Korean Zucchini)
Tender Korean summer zucchini softened gently in the pan with saeujeot for salt and depth, finished with sesame so the vegetable stays sweet, green, and plainly itself.
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Beoseot-namul (Seasoned Mushrooms)
Created by
A weeknight mushroom namul that needs no green, just careful tearing, a hot pan, and restrained soy-sesame seasoning so the mushrooms still taste like themselves.
Side Dishes
Korean
Weeknight
Comfort Food
10 min
Active Time
10 min cook•20 min total
Yield4 servings as banchan
Mushroom namul lives or dies in the pan. People rush it, add the seasoning too early, and then complain that the mushrooms turned watery. Of course they did. Mushrooms carry water like a closed fist. First you make them open it.
This is the namul I put on the table when the rice is ready and the main dish still needs ten minutes. Shiitake gives a deeper chew; oyster mushrooms are softer and sweeter. Both are right. Tear or slice them evenly, cook them until their water comes out and cooks away, then season lightly with garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Let it taste like itself.
My teacher made us season each namul in its own bowl, even when supper was late and everyone was hungry. Spinach is not mushroom. Bean sprout is not fern. Beoseot-namul asks for patience with moisture and a light hand with soy, because too much turns the whole bowl flat and dark. 손맛 is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.
Namul, the Korean practice of blanching or sautéing vegetables and wild plants before seasoning them, appears throughout Joseon-era household cooking records and remains one of the basic structures of a Korean meal. Mushrooms such as pyogo-beoseot (shiitake) were valued both fresh and dried, especially because they brought a meaty depth to Buddhist temple cooking and to home tables when meat was scarce. Beoseot-namul is not a court dish dressed down; it is everyday banchan, shaped by the Korean habit of giving each ingredient its own seasoning before it joins the rice.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms
Quantity
400g
torn into strips or sliced 1/4 inch thick
neutral oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
minced
soy sauce
Quantity
1 tablespoon
soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine sea salt (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
toasted sesame oil
Quantity
1 teaspoon
toasted sesame seeds
Quantity
1 teaspoon
lightly crushed
scallion
Quantity
1
finely sliced
black pepper (optional)
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon
freshly ground
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushroomstorn into strips or sliced 1/4 inch thick | 400g |
| neutral oil | 1 tablespoon |
| garlicminced | 2 cloves |
| soy sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| toasted sesame oil | 1 teaspoon |
| toasted sesame seedslightly crushed | 1 teaspoon |
| scallionfinely sliced | 1 |
| black pepper (optional)freshly ground | 1/8 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide 10 to 12 inch skillet
- •Wooden spoon or chopsticks for stirring
- •Small mixing bowl for finishing
Instructions
- 1
Prepare mushrooms
Trim off any dry or tough ends. For oyster mushrooms, tear them by hand into strips about 1/2 inch wide; for shiitake, remove tough stems and slice the caps 1/4 inch thick. Do not soak them. Wipe off grit with a barely damp cloth, because mushrooms drink water and then make you fight it in the pan.
- 2
Heat the pan
Set a wide skillet over medium-high heat and add the neutral oil. Use a pan wide enough that the mushrooms can spread out. If they pile up, they will boil in their own liquid instead of turning tender and savory.
- 3
Cook off water
Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, for 4 to 6 minutes. At first they will look dry, then they will slump and release liquid. Keep cooking until that liquid is mostly gone and the mushrooms look glossy at the edges. This is the step that makes beoseot-namul taste deep instead of wet.
- 4
Season lightly
Lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, just until it loses its raw bite. Add the soy sauce and soup soy sauce, or use the salt if you do not have soup soy sauce. Stir for 1 minute so the seasoning coats the mushrooms, then taste one piece. It should be savory, not salty. The rice will carry it the rest of the way.
If your soy sauce is very salty, start with 2 teaspoons instead of 1 tablespoon. Mushrooms shrink, so a heavy hand becomes obvious fast. - 5
Finish off heat
Turn off the heat. Stir in the sesame oil, crushed sesame seeds, scallion, and black pepper if using. Sesame oil goes in at the end because high heat dulls its fragrance. Transfer to a small dish and let it settle 5 minutes before serving; namul tastes clearer when it is warm or room temperature, not scorching.
Chef Tips
- •Choose mushrooms that feel dry and firm, not slimy or bruised. Oyster mushrooms should smell clean and faintly sweet; shiitake should have caps that are plump, not curled and leathery.
- •Use either oyster or shiitake, or mix them half and half. If you use dried shiitake, soak 6 large caps in warm water until soft, squeeze them well, slice thin, and use only 250g rehydrated mushrooms because their flavor is stronger.
- •This is a banchan, so salt it for rice, not for eating alone by the spoonful. Taste with a little rice if you are unsure. That is the honest test.
Advance Preparation
- •The mushrooms can be trimmed and torn up to 1 day ahead. Keep them in a container lined with a dry paper towel so they do not sweat.
- •Beoseot-namul keeps 3 days refrigerated in a covered container. Bring it to room temperature before serving, or warm it briefly in a dry pan; do not add more sesame oil until after reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 85g)
Calories
90 calories
Total Fat
5 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
330 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
4 g
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