Maitake Pancake

Photo courtesy of The Hungry Herbivores

Ingredients: 

  • 1 piece dried maitake

  • Korean instant pancake mix

  • Japanese Ponzu sauce 

This is quite simply an instant breakfast. 

  1. Soak the maitake for 10 minutes in very hot water. Very gently separate the sections without crushing them. Pour the soaking water into a jar and keep it in the refrigerator for later use in soup stock, tea or cooking. 

  2. Very gently squeeze excess liquid from the maitake piece. Choose a piece that fits into your palm. Sauté it in oil or butter. 

  3. Separately add water to the pancake mix.

  4. Pour the pancake mix over the sautéed mushroom, cook them until the pancake is golden. You might season the pancake mix, though alone it is tasty, with spices. I add a spicy salt substitute and caraway seeds. 

  5. Serve the pancake hot and garnish with either a Ponzu sauce or a chutney. And enjoy!

The ingredients are available online and easy to store. Dried mushrooms add a lot to cooking for health and longevity. They connect us with Mother Earth in a positive way. Though they grow on dead and dying trees, mushrooms transform poisons, even radiation pollution, into health. 

Photo courtesy of caspar s/Flickr

Letha Hadady