mushrooms

[Hiroyuki]

Cultivated maitake mushrooms in my yard!

I'll make takikomi gohan and other dishes for supper and post pictures in the Takikomi gohan thread!

[Hiroyuki]

It was on September 18th that my son noticed small chunks of maitake poping up from the soil, and then we kept on watching them grow carefully every day, and today we decided that they had stopped growing.

I let my son picked them off.

Closeup of the two chunks:

Underside:

The texture is quite like that of Ishizaka maitake.

[JasonTrue]

In Seattle, maitake tend to be about $13/lb, so about 300-350 yen per 100 grams.

Shiitake run $10-12/lb if I'm shopping in average places, $6 if I buy them from the local shiitake grower that sells at the Pike Place Market until it gets snowy in Grandview. So the typical price is maybe 250-300 yen per 100 grams.

Enoki are usually about $1.50-2.50 for a package, or more at markets that think they're gourmet, but I think the same amount is 100-200 yen in Japan and fresher.

"Real" shimeji tend to be pretty expensive compared to any of the others.

My favorite mushroom discovery this year was "abalone mushrooms", or awabi-take. I suspect ponzu with those would be interesting. The texture is surprisingly similar to what I remember abalone being like (but it's been about 14 years since I tasted them).

[Blether]

That's thorough

I'm not used to buying these by weight (can anyone help here ?), but for comparison:

Maitake - almost anywhere a pack of two heads or one big one (what, 3 ounces or so ?) is JPY100 or low hundreds.

Shiitake - typically JPY230-350 for a small pack (a large handful). When they have them, you can get a big bag (half the size of a basketball ? Must be a pound in there) of Chinese-produced ones in Hanamasa for a few hundred yen. In fact I don't buy shiitake much.

Button mushrooms - like shiitake if not more expensive, but also JPY400 for a big box - a pound or so ? at Nisshin World Deli in Azabu.

I'm left thinking Japanese mushrooms are expensive over there. As a comparison, may I ask what you pay for generic button mushies ?

Awabi-take must have quite a bite to them.

(Insert token ponzu comment here. Whose fault is it if we get pulled up by the topic police ? You can point your finger at me if you want ).

Edited February 5, 2007 by Blether (log)

[torakris]

I buy that pack of button mushrooms every time I go to Nisshin, 400yen is an unbelievable buy for that amount. I think it is even better than the pack that Costco sells. I also always pick up a pack of beets...

[helenjp]

At local supermarkets, western button mushrooms are probably the most expensive to buy - about 200 yen for a very small square pack. Shiitake for some reason have become expensive, except for the CHinese produced ones, which I find don't keep well.

[Hiroyuki]

Fresh button mushrooms are expensive here too. A pack of four is 160 yen or so, if I remember correctly. I usually buy canned ones.

[JasonTrue]

Surprisingly, button mushrooms, and their close relatives, the crimini, have been getting expensive. I used to pay about $2-2.50 per pound, but this year they seem to be roughly $4-5/lb. in many cases. The white ones are usually a tiny bit cheaper than the brownish crimini, but I usually buy the crimini anyway.

However, a pound of button mushrooms is a huge amount, and probably works out to a couple dozen mushrooms.

The awabi-take are very nice, but so far I've only had them with something like chingensai (actually yu choi, whose Chinese characters are the same as 油菜, though I'm not sure it's the same as aburana). See http://blog.jagaimo.com/archive/2006/12/20/2862.aspx

Fresh button mushrooms are expensive here too.  A pack of four is 160 yen or so, if I remember correctly.  I usually buy canned ones.

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[Blether]

Nice blog ! If my addled memory isn't wrong, I think chingensai is pak choy. One of my tips for this winter is chingensai in AOP pasta, especially if I've a frypan that did bacon that morning. My other is komatsuna as a cheaper-but-just-as-good alternative to spinach.

The JPY400 box of button mushrooms I mentioned is over a pound, I think - more like four dozen mushrooms, minimum. Mind you, it could be the size of American mushrooms... the Japanese girls tell me Americans have really big mushrooms

I also always pick up a pack of beets...

Do you pickle them, or stop at boiling ? I don't think I've ever prepared beetroot from scratch, though I must've eaten my weight in industrial-strength-white-vinegar-pickled commercial bottled stuff as a kid.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Blether (log)

[torakris]

I also always pick up a pack of beets...

Do you pickle them, or stop at boiling ? I don't think I've ever prepared beetroot from scratch, though I must've eaten my weight in industrial-strength-white-vinegar-pickled commercial bottled stuff as a kid.

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Now you are making me go off topic!

The thread on roasting beets.

[Blether]

Now you are making me go off topic!

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Hee-hee

Thanks for the pointer

[JasonTrue]

(Greens are different than mushrooms... but agh... I served them with mushrooms, sorry...) Yu choi, pak choy and chingensai are all actually different. Though most Japanese don't recognize a difference between young bok choy and chingensai, most Chinese do... There was a brief discussion on that somewhere in the China forum.

Unfortunately, Seattle's mushroom season is at its tail end, so mostly have cultivated mushrooms right now, and that means a smaller variety.

We've only got a month or two to wait until we start seeing 編笠茸 (amigasatake, morels) in Seattle. While I don't remember finding them in Japan, they lend themselves well to Japanese treatments. I may sneak some in to an ohitashi or two. I suspect they'd work well in a chawanmushi, as they like being in omelets.

Edited February 7, 2007 by JasonTrue (log)

[Blether]

Yu choi, pak choy and chingensai are all actually different. Though most Japanese don't recognize a difference between young bok choy and chingensai, most Chinese do... There was a brief discussion on that somewhere in the China forum.

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I'm guessing you mean this thread

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bok choy has dark green leaves and white stems; whereas qing-jiang-cai has green leaves and green stems. The leaves of the latter are rounder than the former, and the stems more bulbous as well. But even when we are not sure, the two vegetables are so similar that, in most cases, recipes are the same for either

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You're really creating a little corner of Japan over there, aren't you ?

Disclamatory mushroom content: mushrooms and eggs - yeah. The best truffle omelette apparently involves finely slicing and soaking the truffle in the egg for some time first, to get the flavour right through.

Edited: to confuse the unwary.

Edited February 8, 2007 by Blether (log)

[SheenaGreena]

The JPY400 box of button mushrooms I mentioned is over a pound, I think - more like four dozen mushrooms, minimum. Mind you, it could be the size of American mushrooms... the Japanese girls tell me Americans have really big mushrooms

that last sentence made me giggle..and almost spit out my coffee

[Domestic Goddess]

Americans do have bigger mushrooms! LOL

Here in Korea enoki mushrooms are dirt cheap. A pack can cost as much as 50 cents and on sale days a dollar can get you 6 packs.

[Hiroyuki]

I bought a pack of hatake shimeji for the first time the other day for 158 yen, if I remember correctly.

Not bad, but I wasn't very much impressed with its flavor or texture. I think I'll stick to buna shimeji, which is cheaper.

You can get some information about hatake shimeji here (Japanese only).

They say that hatake shimeji is closely related to hon (real) shimeji.

[Dianabanana]

I just bought two medium-sized matsutake mushrooms at Uwajimaya. Only two because they were US $60 a pound! I've never had them before. What should I do with them?

[JasonTrue]

Slice, simmer them with water and dried kelp for a fairly long time, seasoned gently with a little salt and soy sauce, a little mirin. Upon serving, garnish with mitsuba. I believe this sometimes involves small pieces of chicken, probably thighs. Serve in a clay teapot if you can, or very small bowls, and consume mostly for the broth.

Or slice, grill (gently though), and serve with roasted ginnan. This doesn't work as well with North American matsutake because the flavor is too strong; Japanese matsutake have a strong aroma and mild flavor, whereas North American ones have a strong flavor and a mild aroma.

If you have open-gilled matsutake you might be better off making matsutake-gohan, rice with matsutake, which someone else can possibly explain better than I. The two times I've had that at home it involved a matsutake-gohan kit (pre-blanched, seasoned matsutake and other wild mushrooms) and a rice cooker.

I just bought two medium-sized matsutake mushrooms at Uwajimaya. Only two because they were US $60 a pound! I've never had them before. What should I do with them?

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[Hiroyuki]

The first dish suggested by Jason is probably dobin mushi. I found this blog (in English!). Images of dobin mushi can be found here.

I would suggest one of the simplest dishes: Hoiru (= foil) yaki. Tear the matsutake into pieces, put them on a sheet of aluminum foil, add some sake, close the foil, and heat in the toaster oven for about 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle some sudachi juice (and soy sauce) and eat! Here is a photo of hoiru yaki.

As I mentioned elsewhere, they say, "kaori matsutake aji shimeji," meaning that matsutake is the best in terms of fragrance but shimeji is the best in terms of flavor. There are many Japanese who make a fuss about matsutake, but I'm not one of them. I often buy "matsutake no aji osuimono" (clear soup flavored with artificial matsutake flavor), though.

[JasonTrue]

Dobin mushi is probably the best use of American matsutake. I've found most grilled dishes with them disappointing.

Grilled matsutake in Japan, or even a risotto, with the Japanese species was pleasant, but I feel like most of the American matsutake are quite tough and way too intense. I think a risotto might work with with American matsutake, but the one I had at Del Cook in the Nose valley near Osaka was made with large pieces of matsutake, and I think American matsutake would need to be cut much smaller to be pleasant.

I really liked matsutake-soba, soba with a matsutake-infused kakejiru. However, it turned a 800 yen lunch into a 1980 yen one

The chawan-mushi idea sounds good too, but again, that would basically mean simmering the matsutake into a stock to extract the aroma and flavor.

I suggest making the matsutake foil-yaki with some maitake in the mix, at least with American matsutake, due to the texture of American matsutake.

[Dianabanana]

Thank you for your suggestions. I ended up making matsutake gohan. I compared a bunch of different recipes and no two were in agreement. One had dashi and soy, one had soy and sake, one had soy, sake, and mirin, etc. In the end I used two rice cooker cups of rice, 1T dark soy, 1T light soy, 1T sake, and 1t mirin, added water to the 2-cup mark, then added my shredded matsutake. It was delicious! I was kind of hoping I wouldn't like it too much because I don't need any more expensive food habits, but I'm afraid I liked it quite a lot.

These were matsutake from Washington/Oregon. Do Japanese matsutake ever show up in the US?

[Hiroyuki]

Good for you! Now, why don't you post a picture or two to the takikomi gohan thread?

[JasonTrue]

These were matsutake from Washington/Oregon. Do Japanese matsutake ever show up in the US?

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No, not really. Perhaps in some truly obsessive circles, with FedEx overnighted packages sent to the personal chefs of billionaires. However, it's possible that a species similar to the Japanese one coming from China or Korea might find its way to the US at some point.

In rural areas of Japan where there are local foragers with good barter relationships, matsutake aren't always extravagant. The ones I had at Del Cook were foraged by an 80 year old woman who still dives for abalone and runs a Japanese restaurant, who apparently traded them for beer.

In urban areas, though, close-gilled matsutake can fetch a hefty premium; it's not unusual to see five or six small, good Japan-foraged matsutake at 30,000 yen or so, roughly 400-500g (1 lb).

[Dianabanana]

Good for you!  Now, why don't you post a picture or two to the takikomi gohan thread?

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Oh, shoot! We ate it all!

[torakris]

These were matsutake from Washington/Oregon. Do Japanese matsutake ever show up in the US?

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Japan grown matsutake rarely show up in Japan!

Most of the ones sold in the supermarkets are from Korea, Canada and China. I have a feeling the Japanese ones end up mostly in high end restaurants.

A couple years ago we were driving the the mountainous area of Shizuoka and in the middle of absolutely nowhere there was this little stand selling matsutake. I was so excited I made my husband pull the car over and I rushed out only to notice the fine print on the bottom of the sign: Grown in China.