If you’ve been hanging out on my blog for some time you may have started to notice my new obsession with lion’s mane mushroom. I first discovered it in a restaurant in HCMC, Vietnam, on top of a delicious vegan mushroom salad.
It is almost chicken-like, but some say it resembles crab meat. Either way, it is a bloomin’ delicious ingredient in its own right. It doesn’t need to be like anything, other than itself. It’s doing a pretty awesome job of just that. If you’ve managed to get your hands on some fresh lion’s mane then you’ll want to know the best way to cook with it – let me show you!
Discover all my favourite lion’s mane mushroom supplements 
Equipment:
- Mushroom cleaning brush or use a damp piece of kitchen roll
Ingredients:
- 250 g Lions mane mushroom
- 1 tbsp Vegan butter or use oil
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 pinch Black pepper
- Optional: Splash of tamari & maple syrup
Instructions:
- Clean off any dirt from your mushrooms using a mushroom brush (or a damp piece of kitchen roll). This shouldn't be too tricky as most lion's mane mushroom is grown in controlled environments.
- Cut the large thick stems from under the mushrooms. If they are hard to cut off then slice each mushroom in half first and then you should be able to cut out the stems on each half using a v-shaped cut.
- Finely slice the mushroom about 3-4ml in depth.
- Peel two cloves of garlic and crush them hard under your knife.
- Put your frying pan onto a medium-high heat and start melting your butter. If you are using oil, heat it up in the pan.
- Drop the 2 crushed garlic cloves into the melted butter and fry for 1 minute, allowing the garlic juices to infuse.
- Add your slices of lion's mane into the pan and fry on one side for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. If the pan drys out then add in a teaspoon of extra vegan butter.
- Turn over the mushroom slices and repeat on the other side.
- Once the mushroom slices are golden brown all over, remove them onto a plate and discard of the garlic cloves.
- Season them with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Alternatively, you can coat them in a tamari and maple syrup mix to add a balanced salty-sweetness to them.
- Serve them with your favourite dish (see my serving suggestions below) or eat them on their own with some sauce.
What does Lion’s Mane pair well with?
Lion’s mane is such a versatile ingredient that is delicious on its own straight out of the pan. But there are many other exciting and tasty ways to eat this awesome mushroom. I recommend pairing it with Asian dishes or with a dish that calls for chicken or crab-meat.
Here are my favourite dishes to pair Lion’s Mane with:
- As a topping for vegan phở
- As a filling for vegan bánh xèo
- As a chicken alternative in creamy pasta
- As a topping for vegan Thai green curry
- As a fried vegan chicken nugget
- As spicy mushroom skewers
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