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Shiitake Mushroom

Fried Wontons

Though not traditional, fried wontons are extremely popular. They are an easy finger food for parties and a snack that your kids will love. If you’re making the wrappers, try to get 60 out of the dough, or you may have a little filling left over.

Mushrooms with Herbs and Butter

Most cultures enjoy mushrooms, but none treats them more regally than the French. This prime example is best made with lots of butter (not bad with the smaller amount, either, of course) and wild mushrooms. But if you have access only to cultivated mushrooms, combine a couple of varieties—button with shiitake and portobello, for example, and, if possible, a small handful of dried porcini, reconstituted as on page 112. This can also be served as a side dish, especially with poultry.

Piquillo Peppers with Shiitakes and Spinach

A tapa based on piquillo peppers (see page 47), which are sold in jars and cans at specialty food stores and many supermarkets and are naturals for stuffing.

Veal Scaloppine Marsala

This is the quintessential Italian American dish: from the 1950s through the 1980s, every Italian restaurant had it on the menu. It is still one of America’s favorite dishes and is easy to make. The important part of the recipe is to begin cooking the meat and mushrooms separately, then combine them at the end so the flavors blend. Marsala is the special ingredient in this dish. Around the city of Marsala, Malvasia, a varietal of a very aromatic grape, grew in abundance. Wine has been made from this varietal for centuries, and the English took note of it and began importing it. The history of England and the New World needs no retelling, and this is most likely how Marsala made it across the pond. When the Sicilian immigrants settled in America, and rediscovered it, it was a natural reunion.

Shiitake Mushroom Sauté with Asian Flavors

This is a tasty little combination that can be used on top of or alongside any Asian-inspired meat or fish entrée or mixed with shrimp or crabmeat to make a light and tangy starter. I love it with tuna, brushed with a little hoisin sauce, or with medallions of pork tenderloin.

Warm Quinoa, Spinach, and Shiitake Salad

Quinoa adds protein as well as a chewy texture to this meatless main dish. The heat of the cooked quinoa and mushrooms helps wilt the spinach; the dressing and feta pull this warm salad together.

Steak with Parsley Sauce and Sautéed Mushrooms

We like this steak served with sauteed mushrooms and polenta, but it would also be great with a green salad or Parmesan Steak Fries (page 83). And since it’s made with commonly available ingredients, you can enjoy it year-round.

Hot and Sour Soup

In this recipe for a popular Chinese dish, an egg is stirred into the simmering soup to form tiny ribbons. For more flavor, add a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil just before serving.

Creamy Corn and Shiitake Mushroom Soup

When preparing this Chinese classic, Vietnamese cooks, like their northern neighbors, often rely on canned creamed corn, once considered an exotic foreign import in Asia. The velvety sweet-savory result fuses East and West. Here in the States, fresh corn is plentiful, and making this soup with kernels cut from the cob yields bright flavors that aren’t cloying. Neither cornstarch nor egg is needed to create a creamy texture. The natural starch in the corn provides it. Some cooks add a variety of embellishments to the soup, but I prefer to keep it simple, using only sliced shiitake mushrooms for their flavor, texture, and visual appeal. Make sure you use the sweetest corn possible, whether from your local market or farm stand, fresh or frozen.

Wild Mushroom Salad

Quinoa is a so-called ancient grain recently rediscovered by the modern cook. With a toothsome texture and nutty, earthy flavor, quinoa is also loaded with fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin B—even iron! I’m happy to say that it is as delicious as it is healthy. Wild mushrooms reinforce the earthiness of the grain, and aged goat cheese (I like one from New York Hudson Valley’s Coach Farm) brings a sharp focus to the salad. Though more savory than not, the caramelized shallots provide a sweet note to balance the salad’s other components. This comforting salad is a perfect late-fall dish.

Warm Spinach Salad with Shiitakes, Corn, and Bacon

I never liked raw spinach that much until I started eating it from my sister’s huge garden in southern Maine, where she and her husband grow almost everything they eat—a year-round endeavor, thanks to lots of canning, freezing, and the smart use of greenhouses and the like. She even brought me spinach seeds so I could start growing it in my own community garden. My garden is a tiny fraction of the size of hers, but the spinach comes out of it just as tender and sweet. This recipe barely wilts the spinach, so it still has that fresh flavor, but helps compensate for the sturdier texture of supermarket spinach, if that’s what you need to use, by softening it slightly. If you have tender garden-fresh spinach, you can feel free to let the topping cool before adding it to the spinach for a cold salad instead.

Warming Asian Rutabaga Soup

Rutabagas are a robust winter standby that lend themselves well to Asian dishes, where they can act as a sweeter stand-in for the turnips often used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cooking. I use chicken stock in this recipe because its richness brings all of the subtle flavors of the dish alive. The star anise lends this soup a fragrant, smoky sweetness.

Inarizushi

Pockets made from fried tofu skins are convenient for making a quick finger food for parties, and they don’t require any dipping sauce. Find the pockets in Japanese markets in the dry foods or refrigerated section; they come preseasoned with sugar and soy. You’ll find kimchi, the sweet and spicy fermented cabbage condiment, at the same store. Although it originated in Korea, kimchi is also very popular in Japan.

Crispy Yuba Rolls with Lime-Mustard Dipping Sauce

Yuba, also called tofu skin, is sturdy and easy to work with. Its crisp texture when baked makes it an ideal wrapper for spring rolls. Find dried or frozen yuba sheets at Japanese food stores.

Grilled Maitake Mushrooms

Start this recipe the night before serving so that the mushrooms can marinate overnight. Widely known as “hens of the woods” because of their richness and dense texture, maitakes can look intimidating, like a strange piece of brown coral. But they’re delicious, meaty, and easy to work with. If you’ve never tried maitakes, I encourage you to experiment with them. Portobellos, shiitakes, or any mushroom big enough to grill may also be used.

Beef Harumaki

In Japan, these crispy pan-fried rolls run a close second to gyoza as a favorite side dish to a steaming bowl of ramen. Harumaki is often prepared with shrimp or pork, but I like using beef, which beautifully complements the layers of flavors in this recipe. Besides, the irresistible combination of beef and peppers reminds me of my adopted hometown of Chicago’s famous Italian beef sandwiches. Harumaki also freezes well. The trick is to assemble the rolls completely before sticking them in the freezer. You can even fry the harumaki while the filling is still frozen. I always keep some frozen rolls on hand for an impromptu midnight snack.

Medley of Japanese Mushrooms with Orecchiette

This is one of my favorite dishes for a dinner party or family get-together: it’s foolproof, makes a beautiful presentation, and everyone will love the layers and layers of flavor. I use cultivated mushrooms in this recipe, so you can cook it year-round. Orecchiette, which is sometimes referred to as “little ears pasta,” is a famous pasta of the Puglia region of southern Italy, and the ideal shape to hold the creamy sauce.

Fresh Egg Pasta with Seared Lamb, Asian Vegetables, and Sweet Soy-Ginger Sauce

To tell you the truth, I first created this dish by accident, when I added lamb instead of beef by mistake. But when I tasted it, I realized it was no mistake! Lamb might not be a traditional Japanese ingredient, but it’s delicious when mixed with these Asian flavors and vegetables. If you prefer beef, though, you can always use that instead. Follow the fresh Egg Pasta recipe on page 112, but leave out the optional squid ink.

Su Udon

Su means “plain” in Japanese, which is how this dish got its name. But plain doesn’t mean boring—this is a simple and light dish that I love when I want to enjoy the chewy texture of udon noodles without eating anything too heavy. Wakame is a nutritious seaweed that’s found in many Japanese dishes. You can include spinach in this recipe, too, if you’d like. Just quickly blanch the spinach in boiling water, cool in an ice bath, and drain before adding to the individual bowls.