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The shiitake mushroom is one of the most umami-packed and delicious you’ll find! Here’s a favorite recipe for how to cook them to perfection.
When it comes to mushrooms, the shiitake is where it’s at! This variety is one of the most savory, meaty flavored mushrooms around: and it’s super versatile. Sauté them up as a side dish, or add them to stir fries, noodles, ramen…or even make them into bacon! This mushroom is great holding its own in a risotto, or acting as a supporting character for a mix of fungi on a pizza. Here’s more about it and a tasty recipe for simple sautéed shiitake mushrooms…which are insanely delicious, by the way.
What are shiitake mushrooms?
Shiitake mushrooms are some of the most well-known in the mushroom family here in the US, right behind button, cremini and portobello. Here’s what to know about this type of mushroom:
- Shiitake mushrooms are one of the most popular edible mushrooms in the world, native to East Asia. They are slender and light brown, with a tough, inedible stem. This variety, scientific name Lentinus edodes, has been cultivated in Japan and China for centuries. Shiitake means
- Where to find it? You can find shiitakes at most mainstream grocery stores, and they’re available both fresh and dried. The focus of this article is fresh shiitakes.
- What do shiitake mushrooms taste like? Shiitake mushrooms taste rich, meaty, and buttery when cooked. While you can eat shiitakes raw, their flavor is much more pronounced and developed when they’re cooked.
Can you eat the stems?
There’s an important question to consider when it comes to preparing fresh shiitake mushrooms. Can you eat the stems? Unfortunately, no: the stems of this type of mushroom are very tough and fibrous. You should pull out the stems from the caps before cooking shiitakes.
How to store and clean raw shiitake mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms grow on trees: rotting wooden logs, in fact! They usually don’t come packaged with too much dirt, but you can give them a quick rinse before using them. Here are the best practices for storing and cleaning shiitake mushrooms:
- Store the mushrooms in a paper bag in the refrigerator (not the produce drawer). You can leave them in the package they come in, but the best way to store shiitake mushrooms is in a paper bag. Why? Paper allows them to breathe. Leave them in the main part of the refrigerator to get good airflow, not the produce drawer.
- Clean them with a quick rinse. Give the mushrooms a quick rinse to get off any dirt. Contrary to what you might think, it’s ok to rinse your mushrooms! Here’s the best way to clean mushrooms.
How to cook shiitake mushrooms to perfection
There are a few ways to cook shiitake mushrooms, but the best way we’ve found is to sauté them. These amazing sautéed shiitakes take about 10 minutes and results in an crazy amount of savory, delicious flavor! Once you’ve tried them this way, you’ll never go back. Here are the main steps (or jump to the recipe below):
- Remove the stems before slicing! We’ve said it a few times because we don’t want you to miss this! The stems are very tough and virtually inedible.
- Cook in a skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes. We like using sesame oil for cooking them (standard, not toasted).
- Add seasonings and cook 1 minute. We like adding soy sauce, lime juice, Sriracha, and a hint of toasted sesame oil (see below). Give them a taste and you’ll be overwhelmed by the rich and meaty flavor.
More shiitake mushroom recipes
The sauteed shiitake mushrooms recipe below is a fantastic basic way to cook them! You can use them on their own as a side dish, or add them to various dishes. Here are some favorite recipes where you can use shiitake mushrooms:
- Stir fry: They’re great in stir fries, like Tofu Stir Fry
- Ramen: Try them in Mushroom Ramen
- Bacon substitute: Make them into Shiitake Bacon
- Soup: Try them in a Mushroom & Kale Soup or Wild Rice Mushroom Soup
- Pasta: Use it in a mix of mushrooms in this Mushroom Pasta with Goat Cheese or Mushroom Pasta with Parmesan
- Grains: Add them to Farro with Mushrooms
- Pizza: Another place for a mix of mushrooms: pizza! Try it in Mushroom Pizza
- Risotto: Shiitake mushrooms are perfect in Mushroom Risotto (made with homemade mushroom broth!)
- Gravy: Add meaty flavor to Vegan Mushroom Gravy
- Veggie meatloaf: Or use them to add texture and meaty flavor to Vegetarian Meatloaf
This shiitake mushrooms recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free (using olive oil).
Sauteed Shiitake Mushroom Recipe
The shiitake mushroom is one of the most umami-packed and delicious you’ll find! Here’s a favorite recipe for how to cook them to perfection.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 9 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mushrooms
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 pound shiitake mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce (or other hot sauce)
- 2 dashes toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil (standard, not toasted)
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms and discard. Slice the larger mushroom caps in half and keep smaller mushrooms whole. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, lime juice, Sriracha and toasted sesame oil.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a few pinches of kosher salt while cooking.
- Once browned on all sides, carefully pour in the bowl of sauce and continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes until dark brown and glossy. Serve immediately.
More types of mushrooms
Love mushrooms? There are so many types of mushrooms to try! Sample them all:
- Button Mushrooms are the most common variety, with a mild, neutral flavor
- Cremini Mushrooms (aka baby bella) are ultra versatile for soups, pizza, pasta and more
- Portobello Mushrooms are a treat stuffed, grilled or dolled up as a burger
- Oyster Mushrooms have delicate flavor and are great sauteed
- King Oyster Mushrooms are large and meaty, fantastic as a meat substitute
- Lions Mane Mushrooms are ultra meaty and great for adding fried to a sandwich
- Enoki Mushrooms are great for sauteeing or using to top ramen or a hot pot
- Maitake Mushrooms (aka Hen of the Woods) have feathered edges and an earthy, peppery flavor
- Beech Mushrooms are small, delicate and savory
Whenever I am out of inspiration or knowledge how to cook a particular dish, I will look for two cooks to see if they have a recipe posted. If so, invariable – to great results- I will use the recipes, rarely needing to add a tweak to adjust to my taste preferences, keep posting!!!
Excellent. I grow my own organic mushrooms and am always looking for recipes. The lime juice really makes this great. I served over scrambled eggs cooked in the pan used for cooking the shiitakes. Lion’s mane would work really well with the same sauce. Thank you for posting.
So glad you enjoyed!
This is my absolute favorite recipe for shiitakes now! So incredibly simple and so delicious every time. Thank you! (Also a crowd pleaser when serving to friends!!)
So glad you enjoyed!
As a registered dietitian and a person of Asian-descent, I have to disagree on the comment about the shiitake mushroom stems. The mushroom stems are completely edible and are packed with beta-glucans. What I do is remove the stem, cut off the woody parts of the stem like I do asparagus, and cook the separated and trimmed stems first for a longer time to soften them; thereafter, throw in the caps after the stems start to caramelize so the caps do not overcook.
I also use the stems! When they are fresh, there’s nothing wrong with the stems, I don’t find them woody at all. Good tip to start cooking them a little in advance of the caps.
This makes so much sense
Apologies for any mistyping in my previous comment, I am voice texting. So I see after reading the comments that fresh lime juice is preferred, this may need to be included in the ingredient list as sometimes fresh is interchangeable with bottled, and sometimes it is not. I can understand why here it is not.
I’ve tried this recipe several time. And it always pairs beautifully with a succulent Wagyu steak.
These are very good, I’ve made them twice. Once with buttermilk roast chicken and another time with steak and blue blue cheese sauce. I would recommend this As a side for almost any dish. They’re super quick and very flavorful, and are a great change up from the usual dinner veggies.
Not sure if the tablespoon of lime juice is a misprint but it completely overpowered any flavour from the mushrooms. It’s a hard pass from me on repeating this one.
Hi! Did you use fresh lime juice? Bottle lime juice would overpower.
Thank you!!! I’ve always loved mushrooms and only now just getting started to prepare them with the attention they deserve. Extremely happy with the results of this recipe – it compliments the flavor of the shiitake so well. A keeper for me, thanks again :)
My favorite way to enjoy shiitake
mushrooms is to sauté in a mixture of butter, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger. So good and so easy.
Great article. Thank you for that. Please correct the following. I inserted the word in parenthesis.
Shiitake mushrooms grow on trees: rotting wooden logs, in fact! They usually don’t come packaged with too much dirt, but you can give them a quick (rinse) before using them. Here are the best practices for storing and cleaning shiitake mushrooms:
You’re correct! Word added — thank you!