6 Shiitake Mushroom Recipes for Beginners

Shiitake mushrooms have a great stimulant power on the immune system. You can use them to protect yourself against temperature changes.

Shiitakes (Lentinula edodes) are mushrooms rich in beta-glucans, a type of fiber that boosts the immune system. In particular, they are rich in a beta-glucan called lentinan, which is shown to be antiviral and antitumor. In other words, they are perfect to add to your recipes when the cold weather arrives.

It’s becoming more and more common to find fresh shiitakes, although if it’s not in season you can always turn to dehydrated or canned shiitakes.

We propose these recipes with shiitake mushrooms so that you can enjoy them easily and simply.

RECIPE FOR SHIITAKE CROQUETTES WITH SEAWEED AND SPICE

A dish as seemingly simple and humble as croquettes can become a gourmet recipe. The key is to use selected and top quality products, open your mind to be creative and cook with full awareness.

Ingredients for 4

• 60 g salted kombu, salted
• 20 g salted nori, salted
• 600 ml water
• 20 ml tamari
• 450 g vegetable dashi
• 150 g quinoa
• 20 g dried shiitake
• 1 g agar-agar
• A tip of xanthan
• Quinoa flakes
• Flour
• 50 ml soy milk
• 100 ml sunflower oil
• Half a clove of garlic
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Pepper
• Chipotle pepper
• Nori Powder

Preparation

1. Make a dashi by infusing the kombu and nori seaweed in water at 90°C for about 25 minutes. Strain, season with salt and tamari and set aside.
2. Soak the quinoa for 20 minutes and wash thoroughly. Cook in a pot with the broth, shiitake, salt and pepper. In the last minute of cooking, add the agar-agar and, once it has been done, blend it all together. You’ll have the dough: portion it in a croquettes mold and freeze.
3. Let the kibble thaw and mix the xanthan into the reserved dashi. Dip the croquette in flour, then xanthan and finally in the quinoa flakes.
4. Make a hot sauce by mixing soy milk, sunflower oil, half garlic, salt and pepper. Emulsify carefully without moving the mixer and add the lime and chili. Correct the salt and reserve in a bottle.
5. Fry at 160°C until golden brown and finish with powdered nori and the hot sauce.

UDON NOODLE SOUP WITH SHIITAKES AND WAKAME RECIPE

Ingredients for 4 people

• 400 g udon noodles
• 2 teaspoons matcha tea
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 10 g wakame seaweed
• 150 g fresh shiitakes
• 300 g carrots
• Apple cider vinegar
• Sesame oil
• Sea salt

Preparation (55′)

1. Let the seaweed soak for 10 minutes in some warm water. Put a casserole dish on the stove with a drizzle of sesame oil.
2. When it’s hot, add the diced carrot and chopped shiitakes. Sauté for a few minutes, add the water and let it cook for 10 minutes.
3. Put matcha tea in a bowl, add some of the hot broth and shake it with a whisk to dissolve it well.
4. Add the miso into the tea. Dilute it and add it to the broth along with the carrots and mushrooms.
5. In a separate pot, cook the noodles, over low heat, with plenty of boiling water and a little salt. After two or three minutes, or when they are al dente, put them in a colander and run them under cold water to stop the cooking so that they do not continue to cook with the heat.
6. When serving, arrange the noodles in individual bowls and cover with the hot miso broth with the vegetables.
7. Finally, drain and chop the seaweed a little, season it with a few drops of vinegar and place it on top of the noodles.

Instead of wakame seaweed you can use arame seaweed, which just needs to be rehydrated.

SHIITAKES AND LAMB’S LETTUCE BROTH RECIPE

In addition to shiitake mushrooms, this recipe harnesses the full power of lamb’s lettuce.

The real treasure of these delicate leaves is their cocktail of vitamins. One hundred grams of lamb’s lettuce, thanks to its richness in beta-carotene or provitamin A, covers more than two-thirds of the daily needs of this vitamin, half of those of vitamin C and folic acid, or vitamin B9, and one-sixth of those of vitamin B6.

Each serving of this recipe provides 122 calories, 17 g of carbohydrates, 4 g of protein and 4 g of fat.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 30 g lamb’s lettuce
• 6 fresh shiitakes
• The green part of a spring onion
• 1 litre of water or vegetable or poultry stock
• 1 teaspoon miso
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil

Preparation (10′ + 17 minutes cooking)

1. The shiitakes are cleaned and cut into thin strips.
2. Sauté in the pot with the oil for 2 minutes.
3. Then add the water or broth and let it boil for 5 minutes over a low heat.
4. Off the heat, separate two tablespoons of hot broth and dissolve the miso in it.
5. Add to the pot.
6. Carefully add the lamb’s lettuce and the green part of the spring onion, finely chopped.

SHIITAKE PATE AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS RECIPE

Ingredients for 4 people

• 150-200 g fresh shiitakes, cleaned and sliced
• 2 large onions, half-sliced
• 50 g oil-free toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• A handful of parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Unrefined sea salt
• 1-2 tbsp tamari
• Lemon juice
• Mineral water

Preparation

1. In a non-stick frying pan, put a splash of oil and wait for it to heat up a little.
2. Once hot, add the onion cut into half-moons and a pinch of salt. With a wooden spatula, stir it for a while so that it releases the water and softens.
3. When the onion starts to be translucent and soft, lower the heat to low, add a little water and let it cook for about 4-5 more minutes.
4. Next, pour in the chopped shiitakes and garlic cloves. Stir from time to time and don’t cover it, as mushrooms release water and you have to let it evaporate.
5. The shiitakes will be cooked in about 5-7 minutes, maximum 10 minutes. You’ll know when they’re soft and have lost turgor.
6. To make the pâté, pour the mixture into a small food processor or glass jar where you can put your hand mixer. Then add the sunflower seeds and reserve some for decoration with a little parsley and a tablespoon of tamari.
7. If necessary, add a little mineral water to adjust the texture you want, and/or a little more oil to emulsify.
8. Taste it and adjust with a little more tamari or a little lemon juice.

SPAGHETTI RECIPE WITH TURNIP GREENS AND FRESH SHIITAKES

This dish, in addition to shiitake mushrooms, contains a good amount of turnip greens, a highly nutritious vegetable that contains iron, fiber, vitamin K, and vitamin A. In addition, turnip greens contain glucosinolates, phenolic compounds and organic acids that contribute to giving them a powerful antioxidant action.

We’ll show you how to introduce them into a dish as appetizing as pasta.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 350 g spaghetti
• Half a bunch of turnip greens, cleaned and julienned
• Half an onion, thinly sliced
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 6 fresh shiitakes, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic, finely sliced
• 1 glass of plant-based milk
• 1 level tablespoon flour
• Olive oil, black pepper and salt

Preparation (20′ + 30′ cooking)

1. Cook the turnip tops in plenty of salted water for 10 minutes, drain and reserve the water.
2. In another pot, sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add the turnip tops and at the same time cook the pasta in the pot with the water to boil the turnip tops.
3. Add the flour to the milk little by little, add it to the stir-fry and cook everything over low heat.
4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and, still dripping a little, add it to the stir-fry.
5. Season with pepper and stir for a few minutes to soak well.

SEAWEED, SHIITAKE, AND MISO YOGIC RAMEN RECIPE

The vegan chef and yogi Sonia Mengual was invited by Cuerpomente to perform a cooking show at the 33rd edition of Biocultural Madrid. He prepared this recipe in front of a full house that contains ingredients that stimulate the defenses and protect us against the invasion of respiratory viruses.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 300 g fresh shiitake
• 2 zucchinis
• 1 leek
• Sea spaghetti in salt or dehydrated
• Salted or dried sea lettuce
• Dehydrated wakame seaweed
• Miso paste
• Tamari
• 1 bunch of fresh chives or green onion (optional)

Preparation (45′)

1. Make a light vegetable broth (e.g., with carrots, leek, parsnip, onion…) and keep it warm.
2. Brown the leek and shiitake with a final drizzle of tamari to caramelize.
3. Spiralize the zucchini and put it in a colander mixed with salt to release the water.
4. Desalinate the seaweed or soak it if it is dehydrated.
5. With a small part of vegetable broth dissolve the miso in a blender, then add the rest of the broth along with the sautéed shiitake and seaweed.
6. Plate the zucchini noodles, chopped chives and then add the broth.