Miso Soup with Mixed Mushrooms and Udon
Buna-Shimeji, ブナシメジ (or ブナしめじ), Brown Beech Mushroom, Brown Clamshell Mushroom, Hypsizigus tessellatus.
These mushrooms are native to East Asia, though the cultivated mushrooms look different from the wild ones. They are sometimes white, but they are the same species.
The mushrooms are grown in bottles or cups in sealed clean-rooms; in researching these mushrooms I noticed quite a few references to lung problems among the pickers and packagers—I don’t know if there are similar problems among workers who grow other kinds of cultivated mushrooms.
They are so cute that I bought them as soon as I set eyes on them. I didn’t have a plan for using them, and in fact they lived in the fridge for 2 ½ weeks. Obviously they are good keepers!
I bought some enoki at that late date because they looked amazingly fresh—they are not “good keepers” so I had to cook all of them fast. I found this miso soup recipe in my project book, which I have never posted about. Very simple, and versatile. I added udon because I love noodles, and made some ginger pork on the side because J. works hard and I think he should have some meat.
I found several articles online that indicated shimeji are not good to eat raw because they have a bitter taste. One site even noted that people treasure this mushroom because it has a bitter taste: ummm, I didn’t like coffee as a kid because it was bitter. Acquired taste or not, I cooked them and they are firm, slightly crunchy, and have a slightly nutty flavor.
Miso Soup with Mixed Mushrooms
Kinokozukushi Miso-shiru
serves 2 to 3
page 221
- 8 to 12 oz of dried udon, cooked according to package directions
- 7 ounces assorted fresh mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons diced onions
- 3 Tablespoons thin scallion disks, green and white
- 3 cups dashi
- 2 Tablespoons akamiso
- Garnish: shichimi togarashi
Clean the mushrooms quickly unter cold running water, and wipe them dry with a paper towel. Cut the mushrooms int thick strips.
Immediately before serving time, heat the sesame oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, andd th onion, and cook until the onion is soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the mushrooms and scallions, and cook, stirring for 10 to 30 seconds. Add the dashi, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the miso, and stir until it dissolves.
Distribute the noodles among bowls and pour soup over. Serve with shichimi togarashi.
Tess's Japanese Kitchen 
We have these same cute mushrooms in the vegetable market near me.Haven’t tried them yet, but I will soon, with your recipe:-)
I think you could use any variety of fresh mushrooms, but these were especially nice because they were easy to clean! They didn’t have the loose black growing medium that sticks to white button mushrooms.
Sounds so earthy, comforting and slurpable! Wish I could dive into a bowl of that right now, though yes, it is right before bedtime. :P
Noodles are good night and day…
day and night
≥^!^≤
I love the Enoki mushrooms because they are so small and not like other mushrooms. They almost resemble thin noodles after cooking. But Im not so organized, and usualy have to throw out half the package because I wait to long to cook them all.
Enoki are usually available in my regular grocery store. Not much flavor, but they do look like noodles. And they are a sort of texture more than taste. I usually cook the whole package then include the ones I don’t use for the dinner in with my lunch. I take leftovers to work (with a microwave which I don’t have at home)—usually some pasta or rice weird combo so they end up in there.
But yeah, they do sometimes end up in the trash: I’m not so well organized as I used to be…
Wonder if they were cooked then frozen how they would be? More organization involved to remember they are in the freezer… But tossed into a stir-fry I wonder, even frozen, I’m thinking they would be good…