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Use older mushrooms soon after purchase. If you can, choose so-called "wild" mushrooms, most of which are now cultivated. Though they're more expensive than other varieties, shiitakes, creminis, chanterelles, and other wild mushrooms have more intense, interesting flavors, and a little bit tends to go a long way.

For wild mushrooms, please note that only mushroom experts should pick or use fresh mushrooms from the wild. Identifying mushrooms in the wild can be very tricky, and some varieties are poisonous.

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]]> wildmushroom,shiitakes,creminis,chanterelles Vegetables Guide http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/rss/item/1877 Thu, 2 Sep 2010 02:41:44 -0400 http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/rss/item/1877 http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/rss/item/1876 How to make mushroom powder
Another way to use dried mushrooms without soaking them is to grind them into a powder that can be added to a recipe as a seasoning. Don't worry about grit this way, because any grit in the mushrooms will be ground so finely that it will be unnoticeable. Dried mushroom powder can be sprinkled into a sauce, a stew, or a soup. It will swiftly season a breading for fried chicken as well as the gravy that is served with it. Dried mushroom powder can be added to salad dressing or pasta dough or sprinkled into simmering rice.

To make mushroom powder, coarsely chop a few dried mushrooms, place them in the well of a mini food processor or other small-size food processor, and process in pulses until finely chopped (you can also use a clean propeller-blade coffee grinder). Then, process continuously until the mushrooms turn into powder. Store in a tightly closed container indefinitely.

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Choosing from among varieties of dried mushrooms
The variety of dried mushroom you choose will, of course, depend on the dish, but here are three ideas to get you started. If you are making a cream sauce or a veal or poultry dish,m consider dried morels. These darlings of the dried mushroom world have wonderful earthy flavor and meaty texture. For Chinese dishes, consider dried shiitakes, also called black Chinese mushrooms. They have tough stems that should be cut off and discarded after soaking (or you can add them to stock for flavor).

Storing and preparing dried mushrooms
Always keep dried mushrooms in the freezer, where they will be safe from insect infestation, and use within 1 year. Soak each 1/2 ounce of dried mushrooms in half cup hot tap water for 30 minutes. Plug out the reconstituted mushrooms with a slotted spoon, leaving the liquid in the bowl. Squeeze the mushrooms with your fingers to release as much of the liquid as possible back into the bowl. The mushrooms will have given up much of their flavor to the soaking liquid, but you can chop them and add them to the recipe for texture. Strain the soaking liquid through wet cheesecloth or a damp coffee filter to remove any grit. The liquid will be highly flavored, especially when re-hydrating porcini mushrooms.

Whenever possible, add this mushroom liquid to the recipe, replacing other liquids in the recipe if necessary. Freeze any leftover soaking liquid to flavor sauces, stews, braises, and other food that requires mushroom flavor.

How to retain more flavor in dried mushrooms when soaking?
Rehydrate them in cold water instead of hot. It will take longer, but more flavor will remain in the mushroom. This re-hydrating technique is especially useful if you are using only the mushrooms, and not the soaking liquid in the recipe.

Saving soaking time for dried mushrooms
Use boiling water instead of hot tap water. Soaked in boiling water as most dried mushrooms will re-hydrate in 10 to 15 minutes. When you use boiling water, more flavor will be released into the soaking liquid, so be sure to add the soaking liquid to the recipe if possible. Otherwise, soak the dried mushrooms ahead of time in cold water, then store them in a covered jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

** Asian Recipes **
]]> driedmushrooms,shiitakemushrooms,porcinimushrooms,recipes Cooking Guide http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/rss/item/1875 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:02:11 -0400 http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/rss/item/1875 http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/rss/item/1874 Making Chicken Stock
Chicken stock is one of the easiest and quickest stocks to make and it can be used whenever a well flavored stock is required in a recipe. You will get the best flavor if you use a raw chicken carcass plus the giblets, but if you have cooked a roast chicken, you can use the leftover carcass from that instead. Include any uneaten pieces of chicken wing or drumstick in the stockpot; they will help to give the stock extra flavor.

Chicken Stock Recipe
Makes: 1 liter
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:
1 chicken carcass (raw or remains from a roasted chicken)
Chicken giblets, but not the liver, optional
1 onion, roughly chopped or sliced
1 carrot, roughly chopped or sliced
1 stalk celery, roughly sliced, optional
1 leek, sliced, optional
1 mushroom or a few stalks, roughly chopped, optional
1 bouquet garni
6 peppercorns

Method:
Bread up the carcass into several pieces and put it in a large saucepan. Add 2 liters of cold water and bring it to the boil. With a slotted spoon, remove any scum that rises to the surface of the stock, then add the vegetables and flavorings.

Half cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2 hours until the stock has reduced by half.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the stock, discarding the bones and vegetables. Reduce the strained stock if necessary then leave it to cool before skimming off any fat that rises to the surface. Use the stock immediately or store it, chilled, for up to four days.

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When choosing and using miso, keep in mind that the darker the color, the stronger, saltier, richer, and more robust the flavor will be. There are four basic varieties of miso, each with a different color and flavor. Aka (red miso) is dark reddish-brown in color and has the most intense, salty flavor. Shiro (white miso) has a gold color, a fine texture, and a mild, mellow, slightly sweet, less salty taste. Hatcho (dark brown miso) has a rich, mellow flavor.

To store miso after opening, seal tightly (in a separate jar with a tight-fitting lid, if necessary) and refrigerate for up to 2 years. Miso keeps well due to a very high sodium content. When using miso in heated mixtures, dissolve it first in a small amount of the hot liquid in a separate bowl (using 2 parts liquid to 1 part miso), then stir back into the entire mixture.

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Avoid using the following containers in a microwave oven: polystyrene (such as foam coffee cups and take-out dishes); glass bottles; cans; metal pots (or anything metal, for that matter); wooden bowls; mugs or ceramic ware with glued-on handles; and plastic storage containers that are not specifically intended for microwave use.

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