Karl’s Teriyaki Shitaki Mushrooms

Miriam and Chris love any kind of mushroom. I saw some fresh shitaki mushrooms while I was buying my Chrysanthemum greens. I decided that they would be perfect for barbecuing with my teriyaki sauce.

Karl’s Teriyaki Shitaki Mushrooms

Shitaki mushrooms have a thick, meaty cap, but their stems are very woody. The caps are so thick that many people cut a cross hatch (an X) in the top so that they will cook through. The stems are usually trimmed and discarded, but you may boil them in sauces to extract their umami flavor.

Karl’s Teriyaki Shitaki Mushrooms

Ingredients

20+ fresh shitaki mushrooms (3-4 mushrooms per person)
¼ cup Karl’s Teriyaki Sauce

½ green onion, sliced diagonally, white part only

Directions

1. Brush away any debris and gently wipe the caps clean.

2. Remove the stems and cut an “X” in the top of each cap.

Tip: Near the center line of the mushroom cap make a shallow 1/8 of an inch cut at a 45° angle. On the other side of the center line repeat the cut. Remove the small wedge of mushroom cap. You will now have a small “V” across the top of the cap. Rotate the cap 90° and repeat the cuts, leaving you with an “X.”

Note: You may discard these trimmings, but if you are making Karl’s Teriyaki Sauce keep them to boil with the sauce to add their umami flavor to the mix.

3. Soak 4-5 bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes.

4. Skewer 4-6 mushrooms on each stick.

Tip: Run the skewer point across the “X” when you string them. The mushroom cap is weakest along the lines of the cuts and might break apart.

5. Lay the skewers on the barbecue grill away from the direct heat and brush them with the teriyaki sauce.

6. Grill 5-7 minutes per side, brushing the caps with the sauce when you turn them over.

7. Serve the mushrooms on the skewers or remove them to a serving bowl and garnish with a bit of green onion, white part only.

Tip: I had used the green part of the onion to garnish my tofu, so it seemed reasonable to use the white part here. Waste not, want not.