How to Clean Shitake Mushrooms
Despite a pretty strong distaste for mushrooms as a kid, in my adult years, I’ve really grown to love our fungi friends. There a broad diversity of types, that all have different flavors and textures…and of course the different varieties lend themselves to certain dishes. In this cooking video, I show you how to clean Shitake mushrooms, which are among my favorites. Shitakes are pretty widely available these days, and they have a stronger, more pungent flavor than some of the more common mushrooms like white button, Crimini, or Portobello. I also think they also have a chewier, more substantive texture, that I really love in some dishes. They are pretty easy to clean, you just need to know the techniques. Hope you find it helpful.
How to Clean Shitake Mushrooms
- Shitakes are one of the few mushrooms that I don’t use the stem. They tend to be very fibrous and woody, and never cook down to a tender tasty morsel
- Easiest way to remove the stem is to tear it off, by pulling near the base, in the direction away from its natural growth. So if it leans toward you, just twist/bend away and it should pop right off. If needed you can always slice them off with a pairing knife.
- I don’t bother removing any gills from the mushroom cap; I also don’t wash the mushrooms. If they look dirty, I just rub them down with a dry paper towel and call it good.
- If you want to use the caps whole, you’re good to go, but you can also slice or dice pretty easily.
- As shitake mushrooms are pretty soft and flexible, you can stack the stemless caps on top of one another, and then cut them a couple at a time…saving yourself a bunch of time.
Hope you find this cooking technique useful, and check back for more How-To cooking tips.
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