Yes, I said fungus
For over 2,000 years, the noble shiitake has been coveted as the finest edible mushroom in Asia, and now America is catching on to this healing nutritional fungus. After all, 1.3 billion Chinese can’t be wrong.
What exactly is an edible fungus, since fungi are normally associated with something unpleasantly itchy, requiring a salvo of salve?
The Japanese word “shiitake” means “mushrooms from the shii tree,” because they were originally
The mushrooming popularity of this tasty fungus is partially due to the distinctive, woodsy flavor and firm, meaty texture of oak mushrooms, which make them delectable addition to any recipe. Lentinula edodes have much more flavor than the customary button mushroom. The meaty mushrooms have surprising nutritional value. China has been using shiitakes as the mainstay of their medicine for thousands of years and believed that shiitake dispelled hunger, treated colds and nourished the circulatory system.
Shiitakes brim with potassium, manganese, iron, copper, niacin and vitamins C, B1, B2, D, A and E. They have the essential amino acids just as meat, milk and eggs do without all the saturated fatty calories. Four average-size shiitake mushrooms also contain around 10.3 g carbohydrates, 1.5 g fiber, 1.12 g protein, 40 calories and a whopping 17.8 mcg selenium. Shiitake is now one of the most popular sources of protein in Japan, China and the Pacific Rim.
A fungus has nothing in common with plants or animals since they cannot produce their own energy. A fungus can tap into a living tree root and absorb carbohydrates, and reciprocally, the fungus gives the tree minerals, another miracle of nature. Fungi absorb their nutrients from their surrounding environment.
Scientists have isolated substances from shiitake that may play a role in the cure and prevention of modern civilization’s dreaded illness of heart disease, cancer, viruses, bacteria and AIDS. The therapeutic mushroom is also alleged to posses abilities to promote immune function, reduce inflammation, combat allergies, help balance sugar levels and supports our Holy Temple’s detoxification mechanisms — more validation that whole food is medicine.
In the fridge, store them in a brown paper bag, rather than plastic. The oxygen-deprived air within the plastic bag will turn them into slime. They will survive for about 14 days when kept at around 36 to 40 degrees. Wash them, remove the stem and sliver them thinly.
As with any food, cooking brings out the distinct flavor, so sauté these precious delicacies in olive or peanut oil, or steam them in a scant amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan for 10 minutes.
Commence protecting your loving family and their health. And while you are fielding the compliments, share with them the lore that the English, in medieval times, thought mushrooms were merely umbrellas for the leprechauns and that they had to be gathered under a full moon to be edible. Even more interesting were the Egyptians, who considered mushrooms the sons of gods, sent to earth riding thunderbolts.
Add the noble shiitake to your culinary health arsenal. Mushrooms are good food.
