It can’t be the holiday season without this mushroom and creamed corn recipe. It will certainly classy up your table and stand out amongst the other side dishes.
I am not sure when my love for corn started. Maybe it was my early childhood but what I do know is I certainly love it now. It’s almost a staple ingredient for my regular cooking and you’ll find it in a lot of my recipes here and of course more to come. From corn fritter, to corn bread, creamed corn to salads or your traditional corn on the cobs there are so many options at your disposal.
Why mushroom and Creamed Corn?
The bigger question is why not. I was mentally holiday meal planning and trying to cut back on how many side dishes I wanted to prepare. I knew I wanted to do something with mushrooms and of course I would have corn. Eventually I decided the creamed corn recipe could have a new addition and a twist this year. This past year I’ve been struggling with a dairy allergy that over time has gotten worse. There is no way I could manage the dairy that I usually use so I substituted with coconut milk. Let me tell you, I don’t miss the cream one bit. I am a coconut milk kind of girl so maybe I’m biased. A few simple ingredients will make this side dish worth the little extra spend on the mushrooms.
Preparing the mushrooms.
Did you know that there’s a strong chance that you’ve been preparing mushrooms incorrectly? I found this out recently and to my defense I’ve eaten a lot of mushrooms but had very little experience preparing them. Mushrooms have a lot of water in them so it’s important to be patient when frying them whether to eat them as is or for a sauce. Cooking them just right helps you to maximize their flavour.
Cleaning mushrooms: Did I mention that they contain water? So let’s not add anymore by rinsing them. I recommend getting a clean lightly damp towel or paper towel and wiping them off one by one. It seems taxing but it’s not so bad.
The cooking Process: Touching on the water content again, you’ll notice when frying them that a lot of water comes out of the mushrooms even as they start to brown. The fact that they’re browning might suggest that they’re done but you would be wrong. Now is the time to turn up the heat and keep cooking. You want all that water to evaporate. Once that happens then the real flavour and colour starts taking over.
Seasoning: Some may be inclined to season the mushrooms early out but that’s not ideal. Now that the water has evaporated and they’re nice and brown add a sprinkle of salt or any other herbs that will complement your use of the mushrooms. In this case it’s the onions for me seeing as I’m making Creamed corn.
Now that we are ready, lets get cooking.
Mushroom Creamed Corn. Its all about the sides.
Course: SidesDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes20
minutesIngredients
1 can (220g) Sweet Corn
1 cup Coconut Milk (Pantry Item)
2 cups sliced baby button mushrooms
1 small onion chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic.
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Sugar
2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1/4 tsp. Red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp, dried thyme leaves
Directions
- Chop onions and mince garlic and set aside. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel and and slice.
- Heat a large pan on medium with 2 tbsp. vegetable oil.
- Add mushrooms and Sauté until all the water has evaporated. Season with a sprinkle of salt and sauté for a couple more minutes then remove from heat.
- Add onions, garlic, corn, pepper flakes and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the mushrooms, coconut milk and sugar to the pot. Mix well and cook until the mixture thickens.
Price Range: $2,000 JMD. (Price range based on type of supermarket, brand and season. Does not include Pantry Items and tax)
Brawta: Mushroom and Coconut Milk. (Non pantry ingredients that are leftovers for future use.)
Eating in can be easy on the pocket yet just as fun and tasty as dining out. Enjoy!