Hypsizygus tessellatus
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The shimeji (Hypsizygus tessellatus) is an edible mushroom native to East Asia. It is known in the English-speaking world by its Japanese name shimeji, hon-shimeji, "'buna shimeji"', or less commonly as beech mushroom. It is now cultivated locally in North America and Australia and sold fresh in markets.
There are two strains of Shimeji mushrooms:
- Buna-shimeji, known in English as the Brown Beech or Brown Clamshell Mushroom;
- Bunapi-shimeji, known in English as the White Beech or White Clamshell Mushroom;
Hypsizygus marmoreus is a synonym.
[edit] Cooking
The Shimeji should always be cooked, it is not a good mushroom to serve raw. When raw this mushroom has a somewhat bitter taste; the bittereness disappears completely upon cooking. The cooked mushroom has a pleasant, firm, slightly crunchy texture and a delicious slightly nutty flavor. Cooking also makes this mushroom easier to digest. In stir-fried foods, as well as with wild game or seafood it is a good mushroom. Also it can be used in soups, stews and in sauces. When cooked alone, Shimeji mushrooms can be sautéed as a whole, including the stem or stalk (only the very end cut off), using a higher temperature or they can be slow roasted on a low temperature with a small amount of butter or cooking oil. Shimeji is used in soups, nabe and takikomi gohan.
