Monday, October 6, 2008

Grilled Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms


How can I make mushrooms look pretty? I cannot. But I assure you these are juicy, tasty and very, very healthy.

Dried shiitake mushrooms are widely available here, and I think it is also readily available in any Asian grocery. It is a common ingredient in Chinese stir fries and stews, after all. But the fresh ones are a bit hard to find here. Lately though, these have been "mushrooming" in various big supermarkets. Probably because of the continuous rainy season, the fresh shiitake mushrooms are becoming more available. This is good news for mushroom lovers like us! Nothing beats the taste and succulence of fresh mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms is also known as Xiang Gu (Fragrant mushrooms) in Chinese. Being more fragrant (rich and smoky flavor) than the other kinds of edible mushrooms, this is a widely favorite mushroom of Asian people. It is widely cultivated in Asia.

The shiitake mushroom has always been a Chinese symbol of longevity. It is often in good taste to send packs of dried shiitake mushrooms to friends or relatives as gifts.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes in its medicinal properties. Recent studies have traced shiitakes' legendary benefits to an active compound contained in these mushrooms called lentinan. Among lentinan's healing benefits is its ability to power up the immune system, strengthening its ability to fight infection like influenza and other diseases cause by viruses. Studies have shown that these mushrooms even improves the immune status of individuals infected with HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS. This same lentinan also inhibits cancer. Thus, nowadays, mushrooms are being promoted as an anti-cancer food.

The shiitake mushroom has another active component, the eritadenine, that lowers our body's cholesterol levels. These wonder-mushrooms also contain L-ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant. For more information on the healthy benefits of shiitake mushrooms, please click on the American Cancer Society page.

With all of these healthy benefits of mushrooms, there are no reason why you should not be serving this regularly!


250 gms fresh shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and wiped

marinate in the following for 15 minutes:

4 T good quality Japanese soy sauce
1 knob fresh ginger, grated
4 T mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 T sesame oil
1 T sugar


Grill for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve wtih grilled fish or meat.


I used my oven toaster to grill these mushrooms because I was able to buy a non-stick oven toaster tray with grill marks. So I so very much wanted to try this pan. But you can use the regular oven, a regular grill or a stove-top grill.

The mushrooms cannot be marinated for so long, because they are porous and they would absorb the flavors quickly. If marinated too long, they might become too salty.





This mushroom dish is shared with the Weekend Herb Blogging community, launched by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. Weekend Herb Blogging is an event that features herbs and unique plant ingredients, and the dishes we cook using these ingredients. This week's host is Susan of the Well-Seasoned Cook. To see last week's interesting array of ingredients and dishes, please check out the wonderful round-up done by Valentina of Trembom.


24 comments:

  1. I also prefer fresh mushrooms to the dried type ...yours do look pretty to me ;D

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  2. Shiitake mushrooms totally rock!!~~ I love them...and they look so pretty in your pics:)

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  3. i love mushrooms!!! these look great... i'm definitely going to try this... :)

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  4. Yeah, Noobcook! We prefer fresh ones, too!

    Hello Christy! Thanks!

    Hi Mikky!! Do let me know how yours will turn out. :)

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  5. hi ning, thanks for asking about the turon filling... i added the info re this, i refrigerate the filling first before wrapping... thanks again... :)

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  6. yay, we prefer fresh mushrooms too! and I will be cooking some tonight since I picked some up at the Japanese grocery store over the weekend. Your recipe sounds so delicious!

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  7. Trying to make mushrooms pretty! That is a no brainer-never try!
    But shitake tastes awesome, the button ones are just blah!

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  8. Hi Mikky! Now refrigerating the filling first makes sense to me! :) Thanks for the tip! Will try to make this next time I have saba :)

    Hello Tastes of Home! I hope you get to try this recipe and let me know your feedback. :)

    Hi Anudivya! hee hee... ya, silly of me to try to make the mushrooms pretty --- for this food blog! Maybe I should say, I am trying to show through pictures that these mushrooms are yummy... :) I prefer shiitake over button mushrooms, too!

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  9. hello Atsi!!! this is jen--friend of Sal! great blog! wow...saw your link in ruy and liv's blog...they are very good blog friends of mine =) hope to see you again soon and keep on sharing your wonderful recipes!!!! wow!!! galing!

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  10. Welcome Jen! Thanks for dropping by! And I hope you visit often! :)

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  11. I love any type of mushroom.Hubby hate mushroom,said it's fungus!lol!..Thanks for reminder to submit entry to WHB!

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  12. It looks like a healthy meal but portions are small. I'm sure that will not be enough for me. :p

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  13. Hi Beachlover! Well, it's true that mushrooms are fungi! But very good fungi!

    Hello Tigerfish! Ya, it is true! The portions in the picture are small. Not enough for me, too! :) Fortunately, I cooked a lot more than those shown in the picture :)

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  14. shiitake mushrooms r the best - esp. grilled. these look meaty + grilled to perfection!

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  15. Mushrooms don't have to be cupcakes to be beautiful. These look really delish to me.

    Thanks for your WHB recipe!

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  16. I love mushrooms! I'm growing my own from a kit and just cooked my first harvest today. I have to keep this recipe in mind when the other shiitake mushrooms are bigger.

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  17. Thank you so much for your kind words, Susan and Taste Memory!! :)

    Hi Maggie! I read about your mushroom growing kit. You're lucky you have a big place to grow mushrooms. Here, I have to see what's available in the markets :)

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  18. looks so yummy.....i love mushrooms. will try this out and keep you posted. hopefully it turn out, cos i am quite a klutz at cooking.

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  19. I love shiitake mushrooms but I had no idea that they had so many great properties. I'm looking forward to trying your recipe!

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  20. Hi Skinnymum! This is a no-fail recipe! Please let me know how yours will turn out! :)

    Hello and welcome Angela! Please do try this! Its a perfect side-dish!

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  21. This does sound like a wonderful dish, full of flavor. I love shitake mushrooms, but they are a little hard to find here. BTW, your grill pan for the toaster oven sounds intriguing.

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  22. i made this yesterday for lunch and it was super yummy....... so good that I completely forgot about any possible weight gain - rare for me. thanks for sharing!

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  23. I love your picture!! It is truly mouth-watering. Nice one!

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  24. Hello, i need that you explain me more about this topic because i cannot understand it very well, i think that is like be reading about Invertir en oro

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