Shiitake mushrooms

The shiitake mushroom (Japanese: 椎茸; Chinese: 香菇; pinyin: xiānggū) (Lentinus edodes or Lentinula edodes), more rarely called the black forest mushroom, is an edible mushroom typically cultivated on the shii tree (Pasania cuspidata — a relative of the oak). Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) Source: German wikipedia DE:Bild:Lentinula edodes. ... Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) Source: German wikipedia DE:Bild:Lentinula edodes. ... Pinyin (拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin. ... Basidiocarps (mushrooms) of the fungus Leucocoprinus sp. ... Oakland International Airport is located in Oakland, California and serves the San Francisco Bay Area metro region. ...

Shiitake have many uses in Chinese and Japanese cuisines. They are served in miso soup, used as the basis for a kind of vegetarian dashi, and also as an ingredient in many steamed and simmered dishes. There are many views of what is fundamental to Japanese cuisine. ... Miso (味噌) is a thick paste made by fermenting soybeans with kōji ((麹) (Aspergillus oryzae)) and sea salt. ... For animals adapted to eat primarily plants, sometimes referred to as vegetarian animals, see Herbivore. ... Dashi (出汁) is one of several simple soup stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cooking. ...

Shiitake are often dried and sold as preserved food in packages. These must be rehydrated by soaking in water before using. Many Japanese people prefer dried shiitake to fresh, considering that the sun-drying process draws out the superior flavour from the dried mushrooms by breaking down proteins into amino acids. The stems of shiitake are rarely used in Japanese cuisine. The stems are also rarely used in other cuisines, primarily because the stems are harder and take longer to cook than the soft fleshy caps. The Japanese (日本人, Nihon-jin) are the native people of the Japanese Archipelago. ... In chemistry, an amino acid is any molecule that contains both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. ... A cuisine (from French cuisine, meaning cooking; culinary art; kitchen; itself from Latin coquina, meaning the same; itself from the Latin verb coquere, meaning to cook) is a specific set of cooking traditions and practices, often associated with a place of origin. ...

Today shiitake has become popular in many other countries as well. Russia produces and also consumes large amounts of it, mostly sold pickled; and the shiitake is slowly making its way into western cuisine as well. There is a global industry in shiitake production, with local farms in most western countries in addition to large scale importation from China, Japan and elsewhere.

References

Tsuji, Shizuo. (1980). Japanese cooking: A simple Art. Kodansha International/USA, New York.