What Japan is to the miataki China is to the shiitaki, it’s home although both crossed th borders thousands of years ago. Also like the Miataki, the shiitaki mushroom as been a food staple for almost 4,000 years. The biggest difference might be that the shiitaki is more consumed in food but that might just be because more Chinese food is eaten wold wide than Japanese. The big exception the is that shiitaki mushrooms are in Japan’s most famous soup, miso.
General background
Now the shiitaki mushroom is grown all over the world, prized for its meaty caps. If fact, because of the a lot of vegetarians use shiitaki mushrooms in place of meat, especially grilled then added to a sandwich. In Russia they are pickled and eaten as a snack.
They are cultivated just like miataki and for the same reason The herbal shiitaki are grown on a biomass to prevent contamination but the a grow on wood or wood type product. The Chinese used to cut down fruit trees to provide a home. Now oak is the wood of choice. These are the ones you want for cooking. To give you a little difference in the price, shiitakis grown on an artificial media will sell for $4 a lbs where as those grown on oak will go for almost ten times that and,yes, there is that big of a difference in taste.
A little tip for those who cook with shiitaki, you most likely discard the stems because they are tougher than the caps and take longer to cook. Don’t. Save them and boils them in water to start a mushroom broth.
Herbal use
When it comes to herbal uses the shiitaki must wear blue tights and a cape. The list of it’s attributes goes on an on. First it is an anti inflammatory so it is used to treat swollen joints. It strengthens the immune system, particularly with all the influenza, west Nile encephalitis, bacterial infections and some infectious agents. It’s antiviral properties makes it a natural HIV drug. It’s most promising leads though, are for treating hepatocellular carcinoma. There are already several clinical studies on it right now and being given intravenously to some patients. Only time will tell what else this mighty mushroom, shiitaki, can do.
