Hypsizygus tessellatus

The Hypsizygus tessellatus is an edible mushroom native to East Asia. Buna shimeji, or less commonly as beech mushroom is now cultivated locally in North America and Australia and sold fresh in markets.

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Two variations are known:

• Buna-shimeji (ja:ブナシメジ), Hypsizigus tessellatus, known in English as the Brown Beech or Brown Clamshell Mushroom;
• Bunapi-shimeji (ja:ブナピー), known in English as the White Beech or White Clamshell Mushroom; bunapi was selected from buna-shimeji and registered by Hokuto Corporation.

Hypsizygus marmoreus is a synonym of Hypsizigus tessellatus.

Cooking

The Shimeji should always be cooked, it is not a good mushroom to serve raw. When raw this mushroom has a somewhat bitter taste; the bittereness disappears completely upon cooking. The cooked mushroom has a pleasant, firm, slightly crunchy texture and a delicious slightly nutty flavor. Cooking also makes this mushroom easier to digest. In stir-fried foods, as well as with wild game or seafood it is a good mushroom. Also it can be used in soups, stews and in sauces. When cooked alone, Shimeji mushrooms can be sautéed as a whole, including the stem or stalk (only the very end cut off), using a higher temperature or they can be slow roasted on a low temperature with a small amount of butter or cooking oil. Shimeji is used in soups, nabe and takikomi gohan.

See also

• List of Japanese ingredients
• Shimeji