Shiitake mushrooms $2/lb... what's a girl to do?

[miss louella]

Yep, I gave in. Can you blame me? I have a couple of pounds and there are more where these came from.

Can you help me with your favorite ways to enjoy shiitake mushrooms? (I'm not so great with meat but can make it happen with ample coaching.)

Thanks in advance!!!

[souschef]

It makes a great stuffing with braised chestnuts, ground pork, breadcrumbs, and spices.

[4Snisl]

Oh yum! Make Seared Tuna is Ginger-Shiitake Cream Sauce.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

Can definitely sub in evaporated milk or lower-fat dairy stabilized somehow by starch (light bechamel, milk + cornstarch, etc.) for the cream. Usually lighten up slightly on the soy sauce as well.

I've been making this recipe for about 7 years, spooned this sauce on chicken as well as seafood, and it's never failed me, even with all the variations!

[Chefpaulo]

Two bucks a pound??? I'm sooooo jealous! My fave treat is to crisp them up in a hot wok with walnut oil and a pinch of sea salt or kosher salt.. Then I just eat them out of the wok with chopsticks. Or, I've also prepared as above and served them adorning grilled duck breast rubbed with five spice powder and garnished with chopped cilantro. No protests to date.

CP

P.S.I like souschef's soup recipe. Must try.

[hannaone]

This works well with nearly any cap and stem type mushroom -

Beoseotjeon (Korean Stuffed Mushrooms)
버섯전
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6

Ingredients

24 medium to large mushrooms
4 ounces beef (your favorite cut)
2 ounces soft or medium tofu
2 tablespoons flour
1 each egg
oil for frying

Beef Seasoning
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mul yeot (Korean malt syrup - substitute honey, sugar, or brown sugar)
1 green or spring onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon sesame paste*

*Sesame Paste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Dipping Sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon medium ground dried red chili pepper

Procedure
Preparation
Partially freeze the beef (place into freezer until firm) for easier cutting.

Sesame Seeds
Heat a small dry pan (no oil) over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons (Total amount used in this recipe) sesame seeds.
Toast until light golden brown, shaking the pan often to ensure even toasting.
Remove from heat and let cool.

Sesame Paste:
Crush 1 tablespoon of the toasted sesame seeds to a pulp, add the sesame oil, and mix into a paste.

Beef Seasoning:
Crush or mince the garlic.
Mince the green onion.
Mix all seasoning ingredients together in a medium bowl and let stand for ten minutes.
Remove the beef from the freezer and cut into thin slices/strips, then thoroughly mince.
Mash the tofu.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and mince them.
Add beef, stems, and tofu to the seasoning mix and mix well.
Let stand ten minutes.
Very lightly dust the interior of the mushroom caps with flour, then fill with stuffing mix.

Dipping Sauce
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and let stand ten to fifteen minutes.

Cook
Crack egg into a small bowl and beat.
Heat a non stick pan over medium heat.
Add cooking oil.
Dust filled mushroom caps with flour, dip in egg, and place into pan in a single layer, stuffing side down.
Fry until golden brown (about two minutes), turn and cook for another one to two minutes.
Repeat until done.

Serve warm with dipping sauce.

[BigSal]

Braised Shiitake and onions. Great recipe from one of my Korean cookbooks. It's not spicy, just slightly sweet and very rich and succulent tasting. Boil 1.5 c of water with 1T of soy sauce, 1T sesame oil, 2 t maple syrup, add 10-15 shiitake (caps only and cut in half), and 1/2 diced onion and 5 crushed cloves of garlic. Reduce heat and simmer until everything melds together and liquid has reduced to a rich sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion.

[miss louella]

YUM! Would this work with dried, I wonder? today's abundance is fresh, but I have a reliable source for dried too.

[BigSal]

I've never tried it, but I bet it would still work. The biggest difference would be the texture of the shiitake. I think the fresh ones really puff up and absorb the liquid and are buttery soft, but either way, I think they'd be good.

[jcr1]

Lucky you! Mushrooms freeze very well - raw, steamed, sauteed, etc. I freeze shiitakes all the time and with excellent results.

You might try a web search for "freezing + mushrooms". I believe there are lots of sites with suggestions for preparation (tray pack, dry pack, par boiling, etc.) and recommended storage times.

[scuzzo]

Dry them, and powderize them in the blender, then add to all sorts of things, like to meat that's going on the grill! I do with with porcinis and love it.

[souschef]

Make cream of mushroom soup. Saute mushrooms, garlic and onions. Add reconstituted porcini mushrooms and their liquid after being strained (I find porcini essential). Add chicken stock and simmer about 30 minutes. Add whipping cream and then puree. Do the S&P stuff of course. Please do not add flour as I hate with a passion what flour does to soups and sauces.

I once made it for my SIL and her kids. One of her kids, who hates (hated?) mushrooms had 4 bowls of the stuff.

[potluck]

Roast them! Toss with a bit of sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce and water; place on a big sheet pan and roast in a 450 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes. Watch for browning.

[miss louella]

this sounds wonderful! Am I aiming for crispy edges or should I stop when I see impending browning? Thanks!

[cheesecake17]

I roast them with just a bit of olive oil and pepper and then use as a pizza topping. Fabulous on whole wheat crust with goat cheese.

[LNG212]

That's what I do too! Only I use gruyere and once the pizza is out of the oven, I top with arugula that's been tossed with a dash of lemon juice. That pepperyness really helps cut the richness of the cheese and mushrooms.

[cheesecake17]

I serve arugula salad with the pizza also! But DH claims he doesn't like arugula, so I'm left putting the salad on my slices... he doesn't know what he's missing!

[LNG212]

That is too bad ... for him! My dh adores the peppery spark of arugula and will gladly hog all of it if I don't serve quickly enough. Mushrooms and arugula go great together.