Name: Shimeji mushroom, also called beech mushroom or clamshell mushroom (Hypsizygus tessellatus and Hypsizygus marmoreus) — small mushrooms with round brown or white caps and slender stems, grown in tight clusters. They come in brown (buna shimeji) and white (bunapi) types.
Description
Shimeji are native to East Asia, where they grow wild on beech and other hardwood trees, and are now widely cultivated in Japan, Korea and China, and exported around the world. In Japan, shimeji are a staple of autumn cooking, and it is said that “matsutake for aroma, shimeji for flavour.”
They have a firm, slightly crunchy texture and a nutty, slightly sweet, umami-rich flavour, but a natural bitterness raw, which disappears with cooking. They hold their shape well when cooked, and are used in soups, stir-fries, rice dishes and pasta.
Main nutrition value
Shimeji provide B vitamins, copper, potassium and fibre, along with beta-glucans, for very few calories.
How best to be consumed
Shimeji must be cooked, since raw they are bitter and hard to digest.
- Trim off the base and separate into small clusters.
- Sauté in butter or oil until golden, and finish with soy sauce or salt.
- Add to rice dishes, soups, hot pots, stir-fries and pasta.
- Roast or grill with garlic and herbs.
- Do not eat raw, and store in the fridge, using within a few days.
Overconsumption could cause…
Shimeji are safe when cooked.
- Digestive upset from eating mushrooms raw, since cooking breaks down their tough cell walls and destroys natural irritants.
- Allergic reactions or digestive upset in some people, and stomach discomfort from the fibre (chitin) and sugars in mushrooms in large servings.
- Mushroom poisoning from mistaken identification of wild fungi, some of which are deadly and look very similar to edible kinds, so never eat wild mushrooms unless an expert has identified them.
- A bitter taste and stomach upset if undercooked.
Wikipedia — Hypsizygus tessellatus, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsizygus_tessellatus
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