Dried shiitake mushrooms are popular in Asian cuisine and have a longer shelf life than fresh mushrooms. They can be rehydrated and used in soups, stir-fries, and other dishes. Shiitake mushrooms have potential health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and fighting cancer.
Dried shiitake refers to shiitake mushrooms that have been dehydrated. Mushrooms have a high water content and can spoil quickly, but drying them can increase their shelf life while preserving their flavor. Shiitake mushrooms, also called Black Forest or Japanese mushrooms, are an Asian variety, and dried shiitake is common in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisines, as well as some Thai dishes. Technically, shiitake mushrooms are edible sporophores, or spore-producing mushrooms, and form on the bark of trees.
In its fresh form, a shiitake looks a lot like a common button mushroom, but is flatter at the top and has a much thinner stem. It is also darker in color, mostly tan or tan and grayish under the hood. Grocery and specialty stores sell dried shiitake whole, as caps or tops only, or as mixed chunks, and often the dried varieties are shrunken or shriveled in appearance that is pulled out of the water through the dehydration process. Many cooks find the stems inedible, but others note that they’re easier to work with when dried and then rehydrated.
Fresh shiitake is very flavorful and adds texture to soups and salads, among other dishes, and dried shiitake retains its mushroom flavor. Often the flavor intensifies, taking on a richer or crazier quality. Using dried shiitake involves rehydrating or replenishing the mushroom. Water, wine, and soup stocks are some liquids used to add water to dried mushrooms, and in addition to livening up the mushroom, the liquid takes on many flavors and can be used to enhance a recipe.
Some common dishes made from dried shiitake are noodles, soups, and stir-fries. While the stems of fresh shiitake mushrooms can be tough or chewy in texture, a number of recipes call for them to be added as a flavoring to gravies and sauces and finely chopped or discarded later. Most cooking methods—fried, sauteed, or grilled, for example—seem to accentuate the meatiness of dried shiitake, giving it a heavier, deeper flavor similar to that of portobello mushrooms.
According to the American Cancer Society, dried shiitake can also be an ingredient in good health. Compounds within the mushroom have been shown to lower cholesterol, fight cancer, and prevent tumor growth in some studies, but the results aren’t conclusive. Many Chinese and Japanese practitioners have treated patients with dried shiitake extracts for centuries, and these methods have gained traction in Europe and the United States in recent decades. Whether or not the benefits are conclusive, shiitake will likely continue as one of the most commonly eaten mushrooms in the world for taste alone.
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