''Shimeji'' (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: , or ) is a group of

edible mushroom Edible mushrooms are the fleshy fruit bodies of numerous species of macrofungi (fungi that bear fruiting structures large enough to be seen with the naked eye). Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effect ...

s native to

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, but also found in northern Europe. ''Hon-shimeji ( Lyophyllum shimeji'') is a

mycorrhizal fungus A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae pla ...

and difficult to cultivate. Other species are

saprotroph Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

s, and ''buna-shimeji'' ('' Hypsizygus tessulatus'') is now widely cultivated. ''Shimeji'' is rich in

umami Umami ( from ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and nucleotides, which are widely present in me ...

-tasting compounds such as

guanylic acid Guanosine monophosphate (GMP), also known as 5′-guanidylic acid or guanylic acid (conjugate acid, conjugate base guanylate), is a nucleotide that is used as a monomer in RNA. It is an ester of phosphoric acid with the nucleoside guanosine. GMP c ...

glutamic acid Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; known as glutamate in its anionic form) is an α- amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can ...

, and

aspartic acid Aspartic acid (symbol Asp or D; the ionic form is known as aspartate), is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. The L-isomer of aspartic acid is one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids, i.e., the building blocks of protei ...

Species

Several species are sold as ''shimeji'' mushrooms. All are

saprotrophic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

except '' Lyophyllum shimeji''.

Mycorrhizal

* ''Hon-shimeji'' (), '' Lyophyllum shimeji'' :The cultivation methods have been patented by several groups, such as Takara Bio and

Yamasa Yamasa Corporation (ヤマサ醤油株式会社 ''Yamasa Shōyu Kabushikigaisha'') is a Japanese corporation founded in 1645 whose primary field of business is the manufacturing of soy sauce and various seasonings. It was incorporated in November ...

, and the cultivated ''hon-shimeji'' is available from several manufacturers in Japan.

Saprotrophic

* ''Buna-shimeji'' (, lit. beech shimeji), '' Hypsizygus tessulatus'', also known in English as the brown beech or brown clamshell mushroom. *:'' Hypsizygus marmoreus'' is a synonym of ''Hypsizygus tessulatus''. Cultivation of ''Buna-shimeji'' was first patented by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd. in 1972 as ''hon-shimeji'' and the production started in 1973 in Japan. Now, several breeds are widely cultivated and sold fresh in markets. * ''Bunapi-shimeji'' (), known in English as the white beech or white clamshell mushroom. *:''Bunapi'' was selected from UV-irradiated ''buna-shimeji'' ('hokuto #8' x 'hokuto #12') and the breed was registered as 'hokuto shiro #1' by Hokuto Corporation. * ''Hatake-shimeji'' (), ''

Lyophyllum decastes ''Lyophyllum decastes'' is a species of fungus in the family Lyophyllaceae. It is known as the clustered domecap in the United Kingdom and the fried chicken mushroom in North America. The basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are agaricoid (gilled mushroo ...

''. * ''Shirotamogidake'' (), '' Hypsizygus ulmarius''. *: These two species had been also sold as ''hon-shimeji''. * '' Velvet pioppino'' (alias velvet pioppini, black poplar mushroom, Chinese: /), ''

Agrocybe aegerita ''Cyclocybe aegerita'', also called'' Agrocybe cylindracea'', ''Agrocybe aegerita'' or ''Pholiota aegerita'',Mariano García Rollán''Cultivo de setas y trufas'' pg. 167, MUNDI-PRENSA (2007), is a mushroom in the genus '' Cyclocybe'' which is c ...

''.

Shimeji health benefits

Shimeji mushrooms contain minerals like potassium and phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and copper. Shimeji mushrooms lower the cholesterol level of the body. This mushroom is rich in glycoprotein (HM-3A), marmorin, beta-(1-3)-glucan, hypsiziprenol, and hypsin therefore is a potential natural anticancer agent. Shimeji mushrooms contain angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor which is an oligopeptide that may be helpful in lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of stroke in persons having hypertension. Also rich in polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids. Therefore, inhibits inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress and protects from lung failure. These compounds also help in reducing oxidative stress-mediated disease through radical scavenging activity hence these mushrooms are antioxidants also.

Culinary Use

Shimeji should always be cooked: it is not a good mushroom to serve raw due to a somewhat bitter taste, but the bitterness disappears completely upon cooking. The cooked mushroom has a pleasant, firm, slightly crunchy texture and a slightly nutty flavor. Cooking also makes this mushroom easier to digest. It works well in stir-fried foods like stir-fried vegetables, as well as with

wild game Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, t ...

seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

. Also, it can be used in soups, stews, and in sauces. When cooked alone, Shimeji mushrooms can be sautéed whole, including the stem or stalk (only the very end cut off), using a higher temperature or they can be slow roasted at a low temperature with a small amount of butter or cooking oil. Shimeji is used in

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

s, nabe and

takikomi gohan is a Japanese rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce and mixed with mushrooms, vegetables, meat, or fish. The ingredients are cooked together with the rice. The dish is consumed by people in Japan around the fall season since many root veg ...

References

External links

{{commons category
Honshimeji Mushroom
RecipeTips.com. Brown Beech (Buna shimeji), White Beech (Bunapi shimeji), and the Pioppino (Agrocybe aegerita) mushrooms. Edible fungi Fungi in cultivation Fungi of Asia Fungus common names Japanese cuisine terms