Night Market Spiced Corn, Oyster Mushroom and Cabbage: A bacon-ish vegan side

Open up your kitchen cupboards and I bet you have at least one spice blend. I have many, ranging from my go-to Madras-style curry powders and Chinese five spice (homemade and store-bought) to Viet-Cajun, and many many others. People send theirs to me to play with and recently, Fiona Tam Kennedy sent an "Asian Night Market" blend crafted for The Spice Lab, where she works as the Chef-in-Residence.

The Night Market spice blend contains a well calibrated blend of Chinese five-spice, garlic, black and white pepper, a bit of demarara sugar, salt and a few other ingredients to create the savory, spicy notes. Fiona's overall flavors recall the night market magic that I've encountered in Taiwan and Hong Kong in what would be labeled as "salt and pepper X" in which X may be fried chicken or pork. I bet it would work with my salt and pepper shrimp recipes, whether air-fried or deep-fried.

But Fiona asked me to play with it. Night Market's unusual savoriness led me to use it for a quick vegetable side dish with summertime, cabbage and pink oyster mushroom. It's a quick 10 minute side dish that I think you can play with. The Night Market spice blend amplified the pink oyster mushroom's naturally bacon-y flavor. I felt like I was eating pork in the vegan dish. You read that right.

Pink vs Blue vs Yellow Oyster Mushroom

What's the difference? I asked a local mushroom grower, Far West Fungi, which supplies many northern California markets as well as sells at their website. The lowdown:

• Blue oyster mushroom is most common because it is easiest to cultivate. "Blue" refers to what we see as tan and grey oyster mushrooms. The blue cast is why people refer to it as being blue. The flavor: mildly shrimpy. I develop my cookbook recipes with blue oyster mushroom.
• Pink oyster mushroom is smaller than other kinds, has a shorter shelf life, but has an unusually pork-like flavor reminiscent of bacon and ham. It loses much of the pink color when cooked but the flavor doesn't diminish much.
• Yellow oyster mushroom is the mildest tasting (read: little flavor). However, you can eat it raw because it's easier to digest than other kinds of oyster mushrooms. The yellow color burst is great in salads.

Because the pink ones aren't readily available, try growing them with an oyster mushroom kit like this one. The kits are sold for all three kinds of oyster mushroom.

What if you don't have the Night Market Spice Blend?

Swap it out for another spice blend that has a sweet-savory-peppery quality. I tried it with a Madras-style curry powder. Taco seasoning or a barbecue-ish kind of blend would work too. This is a fun recipe to experiment with. I like cabbage but you can use other low-moisture leafy greens, like kale, too.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Spiced Pink Oyster Mushroom, Corn and Cabbage

Pink oyster mushroom have an unusual bacon-like flavor so try to get it for this easy side. The Night Market spice blend amplifies that porkish quality. If both are unavailable, try another kind of oyster mushroom and spice blend. Your result will taste different but be good nevertheless! This is an easy recipe to play with.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Asian American

Keyword: corn, vegan side

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 fistful-size (4 oz) cluster of oyster mushrooms, preferably pink
• 1 ear of corn
• 1 cup chopped cabbage or other leafy green
• ½ teaspoon Night Market Spice blend, curry powder or other favorite salted spice blend
• Fine sea salt or MSG salt *
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 2 tablespoons water, plus more as needed
• ½ lime

Instructions

• Separate the oyster mushroom cluster into individual mushroom or small clusters. Set aside.
• Cut the corn kernels off the cob and put into a medium skillet. Add the chopped cabbage. Season with the spice blend and make sure there’s enough of a moderately spicy, salty hit. Season with extra salt, if needed. Add the oil and water, then set over medium heat.
• After the pan gently sizzles, keep cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring, until the corn and cabbage are barely tender. Add the oyster mushroom, sprinkle with a tiny bit more of the spice blend and salt, keep stirring for 1 to 2 minutes longer until the mushrooms are cooked through. If things look dry, drizzle in extra oil or a bit of water. When cooked through, take off the heat, taste and add extra salt, if needed. Squeeze some of lime juice and mix it in. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Notes

* For my DIY MSG Salt formula and tips, see this post of Pass the Fish Sauce.

When doubling the recipe, use a larger skillet and cook for a little longer, as needed.