Mushrooms Shiitake 100g

The mushroom that serious cooks reach for when flavour depth is the goal. Shiitake bring something to a dish that button mushrooms simply do not. Earthy, smoky and deeply savoury with a rich umami quality that builds through cooking and makes everything around it taste more of itself. Once you cook with fresh shiitake regularly it becomes very difficult to go back.

Available year-round with consistently reliable quality and no season to wait for. Grown in controlled conditions by specialist Australian growers, a fresh punnet of shiitake is a good punnet any time of year.

Slice and toss through a stir fry, lay over a bowl of ramen or pho where the heat of the broth does the work, sauté in butter with a little soy and garlic as a side that needs nothing else, fold through a risotto in the last few minutes of cooking, or use as the centrepiece of a simple pasta with olive oil, chilli and parmesan. They reward high heat and bold flavours and hold their texture in a way softer mushrooms do not.

Look for caps that are firm and dry with clean edges and a consistent deep brown colour. No sliminess or dark wet patches. A fresh shiitake smells clean and earthy. That smell is your quality signal.

Do not discard the stems. They are tougher than the caps and not ideal for eating but they are full of flavour. Drop them into a stock or broth and let them do their work. It is the kind of thing that makes a good soup genuinely great.