The 3 ‘R’s to good eating – Restaurants, Reviews & Recipes

4-page pullout STRIPES OKINAWA E OF OK APRIL 15 – APRIL 28, 2021 AST INAW A T 2 A

An umamitastic world of endless flavor

TOFUGU.COM What are mushrooms and why are they so yummy? ushrooms are an essential ingredient in Jap- anese cuisine, and there are so many vari- Meties to choose from. Hopefully this guide A mushroom is, of course, a fungus. More specifically, it is the fleshy, fruiting will make things a bit easier on you. It will tell body of a fungus. All mushroom are fungi, but not all fungi are mushrooms. you what a mushroom is, their Mushrooms sometimes usually have stems and caps, and typically have types and uses, as well as what TOFUGU.COM gills. Those are the little frills you see on the underside of a mushroom’s makes them so darn delicious. I cap. Those gills produce spores that, in turn, produce more fungi. The couldn’t cover every mushroom that grows in mushroom is connected to more fungal structure embedded in its food Japan, but I tried to cover the types you can source, whether that be the soil, a tree, or something else. usually find for sale. But before we start: A big factor in the flavor of many mushrooms is their umami. Uma- WARNING: Do not go foraging for mush- mi basically means “deliciousness,” but was applied by scientist, Ikeda Kikunae, to mean a sort of rich, savory flavor. Ikeda was studying the sci- rooms unless you know what you’re doing. That ence behind the flavor, and discovered that glutamate was the cause. Ikeda means you have lots of experience learning first- mainly used for his studies, and subsequent studies also looked at hand from another expert. There are lots of tasty dried bonito flakes. However, in 1957, Kuninaka Akira discovered that the ribonu- mushrooms out there, but there are also many that cleotide GMP found in mushrooms also gave an umami flavor. Based on that could give you a stomach ache or worse. The vast research he later discovered that when ingredients rich in glutamate are combined majority of us should content ourselves with what’s with those with ribonucleotides, the resulting umami is stronger than each indi- available in stores. vidual part.

Buna-shimeji Eringi (Hypsizygus tessellatus) (Pleurotus eryngii)

Buna-shimeji are fairly small Eringi have many names in mushrooms with white, long, of- the West, perhaps most com- ten-curved stems and tan caps. mon being the King Oyster They taste bitter when raw, but Mushroom. Unlike most of the this is replaced with a nutty fla- fungi in this article, it is not na- vor when cooked. They have a tive to Japan. It was mass cul- firm, slightly crunchy texture. tivated there in the early 1990s They are good for most recipes. and has become quite popular since. Eringi are rather large, with long, thick, meaty white stems, and relatively small tan Source: Andy Source: David Loong caps. They don’t have a lot of flavor raw, but when cooked Enokitake the umami comes forward. I find them particularly good when grilled. Keep it (Flammulina velutipes) simple and cook them over flame or in a pan with a bit of salt and pepper.

Enoki mushrooms are named after the tree on which they grow, Nameko which is known as the Chinese (Pholiota nameko) hackberry in English. However, they also grow on other trees, like Nameko are small and am- mulberry and persimmon trees. In ber-brown. They have a nutty the supermarket, they are easily flavor and a thin layer of gela- recognizable as dense clumps of tin on their caps, which forms small, white mushrooms with long, a sort of glaze when cooking slender stems. Cultivated enoki with them. They are often are grown in a dark, carbon diox- Source: Wendell Smith used in soup, , ide-rich environment to keep them and stir-fries. white and encourage long stem Long popular in Japanese growth, respectively. Wild enoki tend to be dark brown, with shorter, thicker stems. cuisine, nameko have recently Enoki don’t have a strong flavor, so they probably aren’t the best mushroom gained notoriety Source: ferrie=differentieel & Jöran Maaswinkel DailyM.net to take center stage in a dish. They do have a in another relative crispness to them. For these field. A trilogy of smart phone games called “Nameko Saibai reasons, plus their small size, they Kit,” has become quite popular. The goal of the game is to are often used in soups and raise various types of anthropomorphic cartoon nameko. Of . They could also be course, with popularity comes merchandise, and you can used in some side dishes or find plenty of stuff featuring these cute little mushrooms. salads.

Maitake (Grifola frondosa)

Maitake translates to “dancing mushroom.” They don’t look like your ste- reotypical mushrooms. They grow in a dense cluster and the stems flow into the frond-like caps, giving the whole cluster an appearance something like a head of cabbage. The clusters can get quite large: over 40 kilograms (100 pounds)! They have a woody, smoky flavor, but it isn’t as meaty as some other mushrooms. They can be used in stir frying, simmering, roasting and other applications. Source: Brain Lioila APRIL 15 – APRIL 28, 2021 TE OF OKIN STRIPES OKINAWA TAS AW A 3 A

Matsutake (Tricholoma mastutake)

Matsutake form a symbiotic relationship with the roots of certain tree species, most no- tably the Japanese Red Pine, hence the name matsutake (“pine mushroom”). Matustake have long, thick stems and knob- like brown caps. Due to the dif- ficulty in finding them, they are quite expensive. The average price is about $90 per kilogram, Source: dbaronoss but matsutake found in Japan at Source: 䮾威 企鵝 the beginning of the season can go for up to $2,000 per kilogram! Matsutake grown in Mushroom medicine the U.S. can be had for a much lower price sometimes. If you get the chance to try them, one of the best ways to show off their flavor is in a simple rice bowl dish (mat- Some mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine sutake gohan). for centuries. For example, the fungus from maitake has long been used in China and Japan for enhancing the immune sys- tem. Modern research has indicated that the entire maitake may be useful in this regard. In addition, a 2009 study by Sloan-Kettering showed Shiitake it to have anti-tumor effects. It may also have hypoglycemic effects. (Lentinula edodes) Shiitake mushrooms have also shown some promise in the fighting both cancer and viruses, but studies have not been conclusive. Still, as long as Shiitake are named after the you’re enjoying some mushroom cooking, it’s nice to think they might be tree on whose dead logs they helping you too. commonly grow, the Castanop- sis cuspidate. Shiitake is prob- ably the most popular Japanese Kinoko no yama mushroom, both at home and abroad. Who knows how long people have been collecting them Okay, so obviously these in Japan, but somewhere along aren’t real mushrooms. How- the line they discovered a meth- ever, they have been a popu- od for cul- Source: tup wanders lar snack ever since Meiji tivating launched them in 1975. Their them. A part milk, part dark chocolate shiitake bearing log would be placed next to freshly cut caps sit atop crunchy biscuit logs, allowing the fungus to spread to all of them. They stems, and make for an excel- even found that damaging the bark of the new logs would lent combo. No list of Japa- improve the efficiency of mushroom multiplication. nese mushrooms is complete It’s easy to see why shiitake are so popular, as they without them. are both flavorsome and versatile. When cooked, they are Source: Robyn Lee aromatic and have a nice rich, woody flavor. Due to this and their chewy, dense texture they make a great meat substitute. Shii- take can also be bought dried, which actually intensifies their flavor How to choose and store and adds a bit of smokiness. The applications of shiitake are many and your mushrooms varied, from stir fries to grill- ing, from simmering to soups When selecting mushrooms and nabemono (and that’s just in ). I love making at the store they should be a shiitake nimono: simmering dry, but not withered. If they the mushrooms in dashi and soy come plastic-wrapped, look sauce until the liquid reduces out for condensation. When to almost nothing. You’ll have a storing them, sealing them bowl full of concen- in a paper bag is a good way trated umami. to keep them from get- ting too wet or dry. If you keep them in a plastic-wrapped Source: Chiot’s Run tub, poking a few holes in the plastic is a good idea. At any rate, you should Source: Brian Liloia use them within a few days. You shouldn’t wash them until you’re about to use them. Some say they shouldn’t be washed at all for fear of waterlog- Magic mushrooms ging them. Brush them instead. A brush is fine, but time con- suming, so a light wash should be fine. If you don’t see any dirt on them, there shouldn’t be a need for either. Some mushrooms can have psy- chedelic effects on those who con- sume them. There are a number of such mushrooms, but the most popular by far are from the genus Let’s put a cap on this Psilocybe. They cause hallucina- tions due to two different chemi- cals: psilocybin and psilocin. What more Japan is a country that tends to is there to say? take drugs quite seriously (apart Mushrooms from alcohol and tobacco), so it’s Source: Scott Darbey are some tasty surprising that before 2002 magic and versatile mushrooms were legal. You could buy them in head shops, and ap- fungi. Go forth parently even in vending machines. In 2002 they were made illegal, and try as many perhaps because of the World Cup that was played in Japan that kinds, in as year. It’s thought that Japanese leaders changed the law in antici- many ways as pation of an influx of foreign fans getting high and causing trouble. possible! Source: Wendell Smith STRIPES OKINAWA E OF OK APRIL 15 – APRIL 28, 2021 AST INAW A T 4 A

A MAKE BREAKFAST QUICK AND YUMMYRecipes by DeCADeC WITH THESE RECIPES urritosrritos k Breakfastkf t Burritos Burritos German Pancakes Ingredients: • 4 large eggs Ingredients: • 2 tablespoons milk • 4 eggs • Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1/2 cup flour • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper • 1 cup milk • 2 slices American cheese • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 3 tablespoons salsa • 1 tablespoon sugar • Salt and pepper • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 6 (6-inch) flour tortillas, warmed

Directions: Directions: 1. Place a 10-inch cast iron or heavy oven-safe frying 1. Break eggs into a small bowl, add the milk, salt and pepper and beat with a fork until pan in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. egg yolks and whites are combined and the milk is well blended. 2. Beat eggs and flour together; add milk, salt, sugar 2. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-low heat until warmed. and vanilla and beat again. 3. Pour in the egg mixture, and use a metal spatula or spoon to gently lift and fold the 3. Grease hot frying pan with butter or margarine. mixture until eggs are almost set. 4. Pour egg mixture into pan and bake for 15-20 4. Tear the cheese slices into pieces and fold into egg mixture until melted; stir in salsa minutes until puffed and golden brown around and cook until mixture is heated through. the edges. 5. Divide egg mixture evenly among the six warmed tortillas, placing it in a column 5. Remove from oven and cut into wedges. Serve down the center of each. Fold one end of the tortilla over the egg mixture to form the immediately with butter and syrup. bottom of the burrito, fold in one side and roll to opposite side to secure. 6. Serve with additional salsa if desired. Yields: 4 servings Yields: 6 servings

Taste of Okinawa Seaside Anniversary Dinner

Since reopening after major renovation and menu change in 2019, Seaside at Kadena Marina continues to delight. Enjoy delicious eats like surf and turf paired with spectacular oceanfront views. On April 24, celebrate with Seaside, when they will be offering discounts and fabulous giveaways. “We want to give back to our customers who are the reason that we are a success story,” Manager Dawn Walles said. Try the Tart a la Seaside, a special limited-time dessert to ring in the occasion. Seaside is an on-base restaurant one mile north of Kadena Gate 1 and is open to all branches and ranks.