Japanese, an entree with shrooms....Please!!!

Goshiki Namasu - Five Colour Salad

Shitake Gohan - Mushroom Rice

Enokitake Mushi-yaki - Foil Cooked Enokitake Mushrooms

Hiyashi Somen - Chilled Noodles with Shrimp And Mushrooms

Yaki Shitake Ponzu-Ae - Grilled Mushrooms with Ponzu Sauce

Miso-shiru - Miso Soup With Nameko & Shiitake

Shiitake Kara-ni - Mushroom Relish

Chawan-mushi - Savory Cup Custard

Tempura

[ March 10, 2001: Message edited by: Iza ]

Shroomgirl
Just recently on the Iron Chef there was a "Giant Mushroom" contest. They were in fact regular white mushrooms the size of soup bowls. Kind of like Portabellos. I don't remember what the dishes were (remember my memory is temporarily shot!) but if you make a post asking if anyone saw the show they might help. They were of course Japanese style and quite interesting as I remember anyway. Also try the Iron Chef website it might possibly help. If you get the Food channel they may repeat it soon. Good luck. In the meantime I'll check my Japanese sources. Try www.ironsteph.com :p

Challenger Syoji Yamaoka is a mushroom crazed man. He gets anything mushroom, including mold, cookie cutter, desk lamp, etc. So there was no way he would satisfy himself with just the theme jumbo mushroom. He utilized the rich supply of other mushrooms in the KS, as well as some he brought in on his own. For the first dish, Yamaoka deep fried the mushroom to reduce its water content from 70% to about 10%, so it can be flavored. He sliced them and served with avocado and lobster dip sauce. The rich dip and the aroma of mushrooms match well. For the second dish, Yamaoka made grapefruit jule and laid sliced mushroom on it, then refrigerated them. Toward the end of the hour, he laid sea urchin, caviar on them and served with what appeared to be mayo based sauce. Semi-regular judge Tenmei Kano liked the fruit jule very much. Judge Kishi (yes, she's back!) pointed out that despite its boiling, the mushroom still had some bitterness left, except that it actually enhances the flavor. This third dish is an aggressively creative dish. Yamaoka smoked mushroom using various other kind of mushrooms, then he wraps them in caul (the net-like pork fat) with red snapper meat, and cooked in the oven. It is said that the flavor of mushroom is alive and well in this unique dish. Kishi described it as "complicated flavor". Kanoh said the pork fat works well to enhance the flavor. In the fourth dish, Yamaoka was cooking all sorts of mushroom to ultimately make this complicated soup. Alas, I cannot keep track of what mushroom are prepared how. Lot of mushrooms are known for their medicinal effect, and this dish does have the medicinal theme, as well. But the tasting was not shown on this interesting dish. "Since we have such an impressive mushroom, I thought I have to make something that leaves the original shape of the mushroom intact". So, for his fifth dish, Yamaoka made a thick cut steak out of this jumbo mushroom. I didn't take down any comments from the judges, but they weren't so impressed with this however an impressive looking dish

Sorry Shroomgirl the chawan-mushi and the tempura are two separate dish. Tempura is a batter fried food. It has nothing in common with our fried food. The batter is very delicate, almost lacy. Seasonal fish and vegetables are often used. In fact in my book, they recommend shitake and white mushrooms. You could easily served both dish, the crispness of the tempura would make a nice contrast with the smooth hot custard. Here's what my book says about the chawan-mushi:

“Though the word custard evokes images of sweet eggy desserts, this is a delicate, stock enriched, non sweet egg custard containing chicken, shrimp and assorted vegetables. Inventive cooks will be able to come up with any number of variations: you can add anything that complements the taste of the savory custard base, including sliced mushroom, small strip of lemon rind, parboiled carrot slices, or, as Japanese do, parboiled bamboo shoot slices, slices of fish paste, or even udon noodles.

Attesting to the popularity of this dish, special lidded chawan-mushi cups are available in Japan wherever china is sold. You may safely use heatproof cups or conventional custard cups.

Chawan-mushi is one of the few Japanese dishes eaten with both chopsticks and a spoon. Even though the egg completely sets in steaming, the stock and juices released from various ingredients make the dish a little soupy. In fact, this dish is regarded by many as a soiup and is often served as a soup course. In cold months it is brought to the table piping hot, and in summer it is very good chilled.”


I haven’t mention noodle dish and soups in my previous post but you could very easily served a light dashi broth with different mushrooms. Specially enokitake. As for noodle, the variation is endless. Hiyashi somen, noodles with shrimp and mushrooms would be a very good choice. If you prefer, you can easily omit the shrimps. This dish is usually serve cold but it would be as good hot.


If you need anymore information or recipes just let me know.