King oyster mushroom Coloring Pages

Thick stems and small caps

King oyster mushroom is a mushroom with a thick, white stem and a small, light brown cap on top.
Its stem is very thick and long compared to other mushrooms.
Under the cap, there are thin gills lined up, and they stretch down to the top part of the stem.

A mushroom that came from Europe

King oyster mushroom did not originally grow in Japan.
Its home is in grasslands from around the Mediterranean in Europe to Central Asia.
In the wild, it grows on the roots of plants related to celery.

Its name comes from the plant it grows on

The name for King oyster mushroom in Japanese comes from the name of this plant, Eryngium.
In Japan, people researched how to grow it in Aichi Prefecture around 1993, and then it started showing up in stores.
Compared to shiitake or shimeji mushrooms, people in Japan only started eating it quite recently.

More than half come from Nagano and Niigata Prefectures

King oyster mushroom is also grown inside jars.
According to a 2025 study, Nagano Prefecture is number 1 and Niigata Prefecture is number 2, and these two prefectures make more than half of all the mushrooms in Japan.
It is used in butter sautes, stir-fries, and soups. Some people also cook it in rice dishes, just like the autumn mushroom matsutake.

You can eat it all, with nothing to waste

For King oyster mushroom, you only need to trim a tiny bit off the bottom, and you can eat the whole stem and cap.
Because the stem is thick, you can cut it in different ways to make many shapes.
If you slice it into rounds, it makes circle shapes. If you slice it thin from top to bottom, it stays in a mushroom shape. If you tear it with your hands, it makes long thin strips.
The third picture of the butter saute shows thin slices of King oyster mushroom lined up and cooking in a frying pan.

It holds its shape well when cooked

King oyster mushroom is a mushroom that holds its shape well and does not get watery, even when you cook it.
That is why it is especially great for grilling and stir-frying.
It goes really well with butter and soy sauce, and it is very popular with kids.
It is also delicious in Western foods like spaghetti, curry, and gratin.

The stalk is white with a little bit of cream

The stalk of the King oyster mushroom is white.
Instead of leaving it all white, try adding a light cream color just where the wrinkles are on the stalk. That will make its thick, bumpy shape really pop!
Leave the cut edge at the bottom white.

The cap is light brown

Let's color the top of the cap with a light brown. Make the middle a little darker and the edges lighter to show its flat shape.
The gills under the cap are cream or light beige.
If you move your colored pencil along the gill lines, each line will stand out clearly!

Sautéed mushrooms with a nice golden brown

For the butter sauté picture, color the cut side of the King oyster mushroom cream. Then, color the toasted edges yellow-ochre or brown.
Color the butter in the middle yellow, and the parsley green.
If you color the pan black or gray, and the wooden spatula light brown, your picture will look just cooked and delicious!
You can even draw steam on the white space around the pan!

Draw the gill lines, one by one

In the first picture, the gills under the cap go a long way down the top of the stalk.
Try tracing these gill lines one by one with a dark cream color.
If you keep the spaces between the lines light, the fine lines of the gills will look very pretty.
Making the line between the stalk and the cap a little darker will really show how the cap sits on top of the stalk!

Guinness World Record King oyster mushroom

In 2014, a King oyster mushroom grown by a Japanese mushroom company won a Guinness World Record.
It was an amazing 59 centimeters long and weighed 3.58 kilograms.
It was named the "longest edible mushroom."

Texture just like abalone

People love King oyster mushroom for its crunchy and chewy texture.
Some people say it feels just like an abalone shellfish when you bite it.
If you slice it into rounds and cook it with butter, it even feels like a scallop!

Packed with dietary fiber

King oyster mushroom has lots of dietary fiber, which helps keep your tummy happy.
It actually has more fiber than sweet potatoes, which are famous for having a lot of fiber!
Try putting it in different dishes and enjoy eating it.

Sometimes called "White Abalone Mushroom"

Because its texture is like abalone, King oyster mushroom is sometimes called the white abalone mushroom.
If you slice its thick, white stem thin and cook it, it even looks just like a shellfish!

A mushroom that grows in grasslands

Most mushrooms grow on trees in forests.
But in its home country, King oyster mushroom grows on the roots of plants in grasslands.
Just like animals, some mushrooms live in forests and others live in grasslands!