Wild mushroom, Warrigal greens, rice noodles, garlic butter

Tony Twitchett / Taxi Kitchen

At Taxi Kitchen, the menu changes with the seasons to ensure they have the best and freshest produce possible. Their motto is “Think global, taste local!” This means that the flavours of the dishes have a global influence, but they use local ingredients.

Serves 2, or 4 as a side dish

Season: all year (wild foraged during autumn and winter)

Chef’s notes: The mushrooms in this dish at Taxi Kitchen are foraged by experts from local forest areas and the cultivated mushrooms are grown either in Melbourne or as close as Diggers Rest. If you are looking for locally grown mushrooms, head to your local market. If you’re in Melbourne, check out the South Melbourne Market, Prahran Market, or Queen Victoria Market. They all have specialist mushroom stores that love to help support local producers.

Ingredients

50g pine mushrooms (wild)
50g slippery jack mushrooms (wild)
50g shitake mushrooms (cultivated)
50g oyster mushrooms (cultivated)
50g woodear mushroom (cultivated)
50g enoki mushroom (cultivated)
100g warrigal greens² (picked and blanched)
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
80ml tamari soy
100ml good sesame oil
100g butter
250ml good chicken stock (boiling)
¼ bunch flat leaf parsley (washed and chopped)
80ml fresh lemon juice
200g fresh rice noodle rolls³
Salt, for seasoning
Fresh parsley and Shichimi⁴ or chilli powder to garnish

Method

STEP 1

Prepare your rice noodles, warrigal greens and chicken stock: steam the rice noodles with 10ml (2 tsp) of the sesame oil. They will take approximately 10 minutes to steam, so you can move onto step 2 while they are steaming. Blanch your warrigal greens in boiling water for one minute – this is an important step, as they contain oxalates which can be toxic 2. Set your chicken stock to boil.

STEP 2

While the rice noodles are steaming, heat a wok then add half the remaining sesame oil. Caramelise your mushrooms in the oil. Once you get a good colour, add the garlic. When the garlic is aromatic, add the butter. Sautee for one minute carefully, ensuring you don’t burn the aromatics. Deglaze the pan with chicken stock and boil rapidly. The sauce will reduce and become thick and creamy.

STEP 3

Add blanched warragal greens to your wok, taste the sauce for flavour. Add lemon juice and parsley. Add salt to taste.

STEP 4

Plate the mushrooms onto your serving dish. Remove noodles from steamer and place on top of the mushrooms. Sprinkle with shichimi pepper or your favorite chill powder.

Notes

1. This recipe uses in-season wild-foraged as well as cultivated mushrooms. Head to your local market to get your mushrooms.
2. Warrigal greens are a leafy green native to Australia, parts of East Asia and New Zealand, available in specialty grocers or markets. If you can’t find them, you can substitute baby spinach leaves. Warrigal greens are rich in oxalates, which can be toxic, so should always be blanched before eating.
3. Rice noodle rolls are white, rolled up sheets of rice noodles, each about the length of a finger. They can be found in the fridge section of your local Asian supermarket.
4. Shichimi is a Japanese spice mixture. You can find it at Asian supermarkets or may be available in your local supermarket. Can be substituted with another chilli powder.

To learn more about Taxi Kitchen and to book, visit their website: https://transporthotel.com.au/taxi-kitchen/

For more ideas and inspiration for sustainable living, check out the full RESET: Spring at Fed Square program, which includes events and activations all about learning to live more sustainably.