Dried shiitake mushrooms! A fantastic – and underrated? – ingredient that’s absurdly versatile. Use them for flavor, use them for soups, use them straight up.

0:00 - Why dried shiitake mushrooms are awesome
1:01 - How to reconstitute shiitake mushrooms
2:00 - Example 1, Cantonese braised shiitake sauce
4:45 - Example 2, Shiitake and Chicken soup
6:12 - Example 3, Hakka stuffed shiitakes
9:36 - How to use up the stems?

SOURCING

You can find some of these items at our (brand new!) Amazon storefront. Full disclosure that all links are affiliate links, and that Amazon is universally overpriced. Shop at your local Chinese supermarket instead, and use Amazon to simply get a visual on ingredients... or if you've exhausted all other options.

The CCD Corner Shop:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/ch....inesecookingdemystif

Dried Shiitake mushrooms are easy to find online:
Amazon - https://amzn.to/3bJvObp
Weee - https://www.sayweee.com/en/pro....duct/Dried-Mushrooms

Besides that, don’t be like us – remember your dried red dates for the soup:
Amazon - https://amzn.to/3AatcwJ
Weee - https://www.sayweee.com/en/pro....duct/Pitted-Red-Date

BRAISED SHIITAKE SAUCE

Ingredients:

* Dried shiitake mushrooms (冬菇), 8
* Lard -or- peanut oil, 2 tbsp
* Aromatics: ginger (姜), ~1 inch, smashed; scallions, white and green part separated
* Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tbsp
* Reserved mushroom soaking liquid, 2 cups
* Seasoning: sugar, 1/2 tsp; oyster sauce (蚝油), 1.5 tbsp
* Slurry: cornstarch (生粉), 1/2 tbsp mixed with an equal amount of water - plus more, if needed
* Salt to taste (we used 1/8 tsp of salt)

Reconstitute the 8 mushrooms together with ~3 cups water. Next day, squeeze out the mushrooms, slice out the stems, reserve the liquid.

Fry the ginger and the scallion whites. Up the flame to high, add in the mushrooms, fry, then swirl in the wine. Add in the soaking liquid, the seasoning, the the remainder of the scallion greens tied in a knot. Get up to a boil, down to a simmer, and simmer for 45 minutes - covered if in a wok, with the lid ajar if the lid is tight fitting.

After 45 minutes, toss the aromatics. Transfer the mushrooms to a serving plate. You should have about 1 cup of liquid remaining, so thicken with a slurry until it's reached the right consistency - it should be *slightly* looser than nappe consistency, about as thick as a hot and sour soup. Season to taste, add back with the mushrooms.

To use with noodles: boil some noodles – 60g dried per serving, 100g fresh per serving (recommended: 4 servings), and once cooked rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process. Oil each serving with ~1 tsp melted lard or toasted sesame oil. Top each serving with 1 tbsp of oyster sauce and 3-4 tbsp of sauce. Mix well. Garnish with scallion greens and serve together with the mushrooms.

To use with vegetables: Boil your vegetables together with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp oil. Serve the mushrooms and the sauce on top.

CHICKEN AND SHIITAKE SOUP

* Dried shiitake mushrooms (冬菇), 3
* Water, 1.5L
* Reserved mushroom soaking liquid, ~1 cup
* Half a chicken cleaved into ~2 inch pieces
* Ginger, ~ 1 inch, smashed
* White peppercorns (白胡椒), 1/4 tsp, barely cracked
* Dried red dates (红枣), ~3
* Season to taste: salt, ~1/2 tsp; chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), ~1/4 tsp

Find the process at 5:14 in the video!

STUFFED SHIITAKES

Ingredients for the stuffed mushrooms:

* Dried shiitake mushrooms (冬菇), 8
* Marinade: salt, 1/4 tsp; sugar, 1/4 tsp; white pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp, soy sauce (生抽), 1/2 tsp
* Pork - 150g lean, 60g fat (we used ham/leg, 后腿)
* Binders: salt, 1/2 tsp; egg white, 1; ice water, 40g
* Slurry for the pork: cornstarch (生粉), 1/2 tbsp mixed with an equal amount water
* Seasoning: sugar, 1/4 tsp; white pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/4 tsp; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1/2 tsp; soy sauce (生抽), 1/2 tsp; dark soy sauce, 1/4 tsp (老抽)
* Toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1 tsp
* Cornstarch (生粉), ~1/8 tsp per shiitake (~2 tsp total) - to coat the shiitakes

Find the process at 6:33 in the video!

Ingredients for the sauce:

* Lard -or- peanut oil, 1 tbsp
* Ginger (姜), ~1/2 inch, smashed
* Scallion, ~1 large, white and green parts separated
* Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp
* Reserved mushroom soaking liquid, 1/2 cup
* Seasoning: salt, 1/4 tsp; sugar, 1/4 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp; white pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp
* Slurry: cornstarch (生粉), 1 tsp mixed with an equal amount of water (plus more if needed)

Find the process at 8:58 in the video!

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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg