This is the mushroom hack that you didn’t know you needed.

It’s a quick-as-a-wink recipe that’s perfect when you’re time-pressed.

Or in need an ideal base for a quick vegetarian meal. Or a no-brainer side dish to any Asian-influenced main.

“Steamed Shiitakes with Ginger-Garlic-Scallion Sauce” is fast, delicious, and deceptive. That’s because the “steaming” happens in about 5 minutes in your microwave.

It results in the silkiest, slipperiest, most supple mushrooms that are also plenty saucy.

This genius recipe is from “Hello, Home Cooking” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook is by Ham El-Waylly, a New York City recipe developer and video creator who is chef-partner of the New Orleans-style seafood bar, Strange Delight in Brooklyn.

Raised in Qatar to Bolivian-Egyptian parents who worked in the restaurant business, he moved to the United States at age 19. There, he went on to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, before cooking in the notable New York City kitchens of WD-50 and Corton, then becoming culinary director at Alex Stupak’s Empellón in Midtown Manhattan.

El-Waylly always thought of himself as a fine-dining chef, he writes in his cookbook — until the pandemic hit and he and his wife found themselves cooking all the time for not only themselves, but also for their neighbors.

It forever changed the way he thought about cooking, inspiring him to open up his late-mother’s cooking diary, filled with recipes of her own and others she had come across, which were filed incongruously enough in a notebook whose cover depicted a red lingerie-clad Madonna. He began to lean into all the global dishes he had grown up loving, and making them his own.

The result is a cookbook that’s brave and brash, daring you to rethink what you might know about a seemingly familiar dish and encouraging you with warmth, humor and gusto to play around with it.

The book is filled with loads of bold, close-up, color photos of El-Waylly’s dishes that make them impossible to resist.

The enthralling recipes include one for waffles — but made with masa and yeast to give them lightness, as well as a deep corn taste; garlic buns — made with the surprise of tapioca starch to give them a slight chewy texture like mochi; “Soba Sharkaseya,” in which Japanese noodles meet Egyptian cinnamon-walnut sauce; hot dogs steeped in a buttery sauce of oregano, chili flakes and tomato puree, then served with buns plus every imaginable topping for your own “Brazilian Hot Dog Party”; and a ganache tart that sits on a crust made with — of all things — pulverized Fritos.

El-Waylly may call himself a non-microwave guy, but this microwave mushroom dish is one of which he should be justly proud.

It could not be easier, either. Just trim the stems off of whole shiitakes, and place them in a large microwaveable bowl with scallions, ginger, garlic, Thai chili, soy sauce, miso, sesame oil, rice vine vinegar and a splash of oil. Cover and place in the microwave, cooking in 1-minute bursts until the mushrooms are tender. That is it. No heating up a wok. No turning on the oven. No lighting a grill. Just push a couple of buttons and you’re done.

The mushrooms emerge tender, buttery smooth, and even juicy. They are full of umami flavor plus a little spicy.

El-Waylly likes to make a big batch at the start of a week, and keep it handy in the fridge. I can see why. It is so versatile to have on hand.

I tossed the mushrooms and their sauce with soba noodles for a wickedly fast and easy weeknight dinner. The mushrooms would also be delicious atop steamed rice. Or folded into an omelet. Or as a bed for steamed fish. Or chopped up and stirred into vegetable broth for a satisfying soup.

No doubt you’ll come up with plenty more uses, too.

Steamed Shiitakes with Ginger-Garlic-Scallion Sauce

(Makes about 4 cups)

1 pound shiitakes, stems removed

1 bunch of scallions (green and white parts), thinly sliced

2-inch piece of ginger, finely grated

6 garlic cloves, finely grated

1 Thai chili, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon white miso

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup neutral oil

Place the shiitake caps in a microwave-safe container that has a tight-fitting lid.

In a medium bowl, combine the scallions, ginger, garlic, Thai chili, soy, miso, sesame oil, and vinegar. Then, whisk until miso is fully incorporated and no lumps remain. Add the neutral oil and whisk again.

Dump the sauce onto the shiitakes and cover with the lid, leaving one corner popped, as if it’s winking at you (it is!). Microwave in 1-minute bursts until the shiitakes are fully tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Let rest with the lid closed for 5 minutes before serving.

P.S.: I you want to make just the ginger-scallion-sauce, you can microwave the sauce in 1-minute bursts until the scallions have wilted and the garlic is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Store in your fridge in a container with a tight lid for up to a week.

From “Hello, Home Cooking” by Ham El-Waylly

Another Great Shiitake Recipe by Another Great Chef: Sauteed Shiitake Mushrooms with Sage by Eric Ripert