How to Cook Shiitake Mushrooms

As the world continues to shift and tilt towards healthy food, mushrooms are definitely facing a hike in demand that continues to go on and upwards only. One of the leading and the most popular types of mushrooms are shiitake mushrooms. As the demand for organic food has risen, the benefit has gone to the farmers’ markets to a great extent and hence contributed to their popularity. Farmers’ markets in themselves have made it really easy for people across the US to gain access to mushrooms. Blue oyster mushrooms, pink oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms are at the forefront of this mushroom revolution.

This hike in the demand for mushrooms is not only due to the fact that they are healthy and safe to consume, but it is also the mushroom grow kits that contribute to the increase in the demand for mushrooms, as these kits are very convenient in of themselves.

The front runners of these mushroom grow kits that are dominating the farmers’ markets are shiitake mushroom grow kits and blue oyster grow kits. The demand for these two types of mushroom kits is so high, that they get sold in about several minutes as the farmers’ markets open, so if you want to get one for yourself, you better buckle up for some hustle that you might face in its purchase.

The type of mushrooms at the head of our discussion are shiitake mushrooms. It is not just the fact that shiitake mushrooms are healthy to consume, added to it the fact that their taste is also absolutely mouth-watering, making it really easy for people who are looking to shift their diet from the usage of seafood and meat to one that is almost as good in taste but comes with the bonus of it being much more forgiving on the body.

Today, the main topic of our discussion is the shiitake recipe, that is not only easy to carry out but also proves to be very helpful. By following some really easy steps, you can make this recipe and you will not be able to resist it from becoming a favorite at your house. With the introduction of the mushroom grow kits, it is no longer an issue for someone to grow mushrooms at home. These kits help the people by getting them rid of the whole procedure of setting the fruit blocks themselves, by providing people with ready made fruiting blocks.

How Do Mushrooms Grow

Before getting on with the recipe, we shall discuss the whole procedure of growing shiitake mushrooms. Most people who grow Shiitake mushrooms end up growing them into their garages. It should also be taken into notice however, that if these conditions for mushrooms are not perfectly laid out, this could lead to results that might not be considered to be ideal. Another good thing about growing mushrooms is that they do not take much space as compared to other plants, and they will even flourish in very little spaces.

There are several methods for growing mushrooms, the main method of growing mushrooms is taking plastic bags and filling them with sawdust and wood chips. Since plastic bags are impermeable, it makes them ideal for keeping in the water inside these tightly packed bags, without letting the water leak off. It should be taken into notice that since the world is getting more cautious about the environment, the use of plastic bags and disposing them does not seem to contribute positively to the environment.

If one intends to reuse these plastic bags, it is not an efficient way either, as once these bags are used, they are not able to provide the same results as when they were used for the first time, so new bags have to be bought again and again. This leads to a greater increase in the cost of production, together with the fact that the disposing of the plastic bags is also not looked at positively. This has thus led to some farmers adopting the traditional ways of growing mushrooms, the techniques that are being used since forever, although they might not be as convenient as the contemporary methods, and might even take up more space, but they do tend to be safer for the environment.

Shiitake Mushrooms Storage

The ideal condition for the shiitake mushrooms is to first insert them in a paper bag which would allow them to take air in, and then put them at a central part of a refrigerator, so as to allow a smooth flow of air.

Shiitake Mushrooms Cleaning

Moving onto the main course before cooking the mushrooms. First and foremost, it would be preferred to clean the mushrooms, it should be done through the usage of a damp cloth, that would be able to remove all kinds of dirt on the mushrooms before getting them ready for cooking. The reason that water is not used to clean them is because the water is very likely to penetrate through the mushrooms and might make them sloppy, thus damaging the mushrooms.

How to Cook Shiitake Mushrooms

First and foremost, it is really important to get rid of the stem of the mushrooms, as it is often dirty, and needs to be cut off before getting on with the cooking. Then the mushrooms should be cut into equally sized smaller pieces, which would allow the heat to get through them easily and thus allowing the cooking to be done more evenly.

How to Fry Shiitake Mushrooms

Since we have come so far, now we get on with the most essential part of the whole procedure of cooking, to improve the taste of the mushrooms, it is highly recommended that some sort of oil should be used so as to enhance the taste of the mushrooms to an even greater extent, personally from my side it would be advised that ghee along with olive oil should be used, which would improve the taste by a lot. Here, a lot of different ways can be used, solely olive oil can also be used here, or if one wants, they can make use of both olive oil and butter, so people can experiment as per what might maximize their utility.

After this, we get on with heating the mushrooms, a non-stick frying pan should be used, and the heat should neither be too low or extreme, it should be just moderate, and the heating should be done up until you observe some change in the color. It is should not be forgotten to flip the mushrooms so that both sides receive the heat and are evenly cooked. One can add seasoning as they might wish, however too much of it should not be used, as using a lot of it can actually consume the taste of the shiitake mushrooms themselves. You can use some salt, soy sauce as well as garlic powder for getting a more suitable flavor. It is mostly advised that one should take off the mushrooms from heating when you observe a clear change in the color, however I would personally advise you to judge it through what you might smell at the time, as I think it is a better method of checking whether the mushrooms have been cooked or not.

Well, that is it with the whole procedure regarding the cooking of the shiitake mushrooms, it is a really simple method that does not consist of any perplexing steps that might cause one to experience a lot of problem during its cooking, so by following the whole process, you are bound to get the results that will contribute to your utility.