Vegetables
Shimeji mushroom
しめじ しめじ shimeji
Also known asshimeji, bunashimeji
At its best in Sep, Oct, Nov
When it is at its best
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
In seasonAvailable
How to cook
Takikomi gohan
Cooked with the rice, carrying both broth and aroma into the grains.
Pan-fried in butter
Cooked quickly over high heat; Western treatments suit it too.
In soup
For miso soup or clear soup, to which it gives good flavour.
Baked in foil
Wrapped and steam-baked, which seals in the aroma.
How to choose
Caps not yet fully open, with thick white stems and a firm cluster.
Storage
Do not wash. Wrap in paper and refrigerate. Trimmed and separated, it also freezes in portions.
Main areas
Good to know
The shimeji of the saying about matsutake for aroma and shimeji for flavour is the wild honshimeji. Most of what reaches the market is cultivated bunashimeji, a different species. Honshimeji is difficult to cultivate and remains scarce.
