So THAT’s Why Restaurant Mushrooms Are So Much Better

Forget your favourite hob trick for cooking rice; apparently, the best restaurants make theirs in the oven or rice cooker, a former chef admitted. 

Adding a hefty knob of butter to the grains can make all the difference, they added. 

But what about the meaty, juicy-but-not-soggy mushrooms the pros always seem to be able to achieve? I can never make them at home; mine always end up rubbery, slimy, and tasteless. 

Well, according to the experts, it seems I’m making a crucial mistake before I even place my mushrooms in a pan. 

You should consider “dry frying” mushrooms

“Many people panic when frying mushrooms as their sponge-like quality means they quickly soak up the oil in the pan,” Great British Chefs write. 

One answer to that is to “dry fry” mushrooms, or to cook them in a very hot pan (without crowding them, as that’ll cause them to steam) without any fat at all. 

That’s because mushrooms, which contain a lot of water, need to release their liquid before they can become golden-brown, umami chunks of deliciousness. 

When you add oil or butter to a pan, the liquid content can rise, prolonging the evaporation process and giving the fungi more time to develop that rubbery, slimy texture that many of us hate. 

This brings me to my next point; whether you’re dry-frying mushrooms (my personal favourite method) or adding butter, you shouldn’t give in to the temptation to flip them before they’re done. 

“Add the sliced mushrooms and ensure they’re evenly distributed, then allow them to cook, undisturbed, until they begin to release their water,” Great British Chefs say. 

If you do want to add butter for an extra-decadent finish, doing so after the ’shrooms have released all their water will allow them to actually absorb the fat. 

Any other tips?

Yes – for truly flavourful mushrooms, you can try roasting them in a baking tray.

Simply put them in a single layer (again, not touching) in a 200ºC oven for 15 minutes. 

After that, the liquid should have drained from them; pour this out, then coat the mushrooms in oil and return them to the oven for another quarter-hour session. 

Sometimes, I do this before making something like a water-heavy risotto to prevent limp mushrooms; it’s never let me down.