Mushroom bounty

As the summer heat recedes and relents, the first signs of another season are already sprouting. Pauline D Loh shares an autumn harvest.

My brother David arrived in Beijing last week bearing two boxes of matsutake mushrooms. Carefully cradled inside the styrofoam, they immediately released a titillating aroma into the room as soon as the tops of the boxes were lifted. The musky perfume made me realize just why Japanese gourmets are prepared to pay so much for a taste of the matsutake.

The matsutake or pine mushroom grows in China and Japan, and in certain parts of Europe and the United States. But it is truly and fully appreciated in all its gourmet glory only in Japan and in China's Yunnan province, where it announces the arrival of autumn by pushing up through the damp forest floors under the native pines.

This year, our Yunnan mushrooms were a little late in starting, partly due to the persistent drought in the highlands. But timely rain in the last few weeks has finally produced a decent crop, part of which arrived in Beijing thanks to the generosity of my beloved sibling.

I was truly grateful for my box of mushrooms, precisely because I knew they must have cost a pretty penny. Matsutake are rare, and will get even more so as urbanization continues to encroach on Yunnan's natural forest reserves. In Japan, they are now so hard to find that prices have escalated to thousands of dollars per kilogram.

Yunnan matsutake are now exported to Japan where they still command a very good price.

I have always preferred matsutake to even truffles, another exquisite but damningly expensive fungus. The matsutake combines texture and aroma in a way that makes it a pleasure to cook with. The truffle, black or white, is almost too exclusive to touch, in a way, and this loses much of its common appeal. An occasional sliver, maybe, or perhaps a jar of truffled salt like what Sydney's Tetsuya Wakuda makes - that is enough for culinary plebeians such as me.

But the matsutake is totally different. It is a versatile mushroom that lends itself and its aroma to soups, stir-fries, omelettes and pasta. The Japanese also like it thinly sliced and grilled over an open fire, lightly sprinkled with salt and enjoyed au naturel.

If you have the good fortune to have access to a seasonal supply, here's how to choose the best. This mushroom is best enjoyed when it is just "ripe", but still tightly closed. Mushrooms with flared gills should be eaten as quickly as possible as their aroma will dissipate with age. They will also be much harder to clean.

You should avoid washing the matsutake, just like any mushroom. The best specimens should be moist but dry and a quick brush off will usually get rid of any compost or grit still clinging to the stems or caps.

I usually take my potato brush and give them a quick make-over. Finish by brushing off any remaining grit with a slightly dampened kitchen cloth.

If you are not ready to eat them, you can place them in the fridge in-between layers of paper towels, loosely covered in a plastic container. Do not bag them in zipper bags, they will sweat and form a damp layer that may encourage decomposition.

Matsutake should be eaten fresh, as they perish pretty quickly. If you really want to save some for an absent loved one, cook it and then bottle it. On certain flights from Kunming, you get served little vacuum packs of lightly cured matsutake with your meal - and they are the most delicious snacks.

Here are a few tasty but easy recipes for cooking matsutake. They can be used for any aromatic mushrooms as well, especially those with a stronger fragrance like porcini or shiitake.

Recipe | MATSUTAKE STIR-FRY

Ingredients (serves 4):

4-6 matsutake mushrooms (abt 150g)

4 large cloves garlic, peeled

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

White pepper

Method:

1. Brush the matsutake mushrooms and remove any grit or compost. Gently wipe with a very lightly dampened soft kitchen cloth. Trim off the root ends.

2. Cut each mushroom into half and then slice across the diagonal into thick slivers.

3. Skin the garlic cloves and cut them into slivers as well.

4. Heat up the oil in a deep wok or frying pan and wait until the oil is heated. Hold your palm over the oil and count to five. If you cannot hold it over the heat any more, it's hot enough.

5. Add the garlic slivers and stir them through the oil until they just start to turn golden brown. Add all the mushroom and also the sea salt.

6. Keep stir-frying until the mushrooms are slightly softened and lightly caramelized in the hot oil. Add a light dusting of pepper.

Food Notes:

In Yunnan, this dish is cooked with the addition of Sichuan peppercorns or the little red chili peppers that are searingly hot. But I prefer not to, since the matsutake should be enjoyed for its own aroma. The garlic does double duty. It's a natural anti-bacterial and acts as an insurance against any hidden bugs. Of course, it also adds another layer of flavor to the dish. Keep the oil, because it will be fully infused with the fragrance of matsutake. If you like, you can keep this in bottles in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe | MATSUTAKE OMELETTE

Ingredients (serves 4):

4-6 matsutake mushrooms (abt 150g)

2 large cloves garlic, peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large eggs, well-beaten

1/2 tsp sea salt

White pepper

Method:

1. Brush the matsutake mushrooms and remove any grit or compost. Gently wipe with a very lightly dampened soft kitchen cloth. Trim off the root ends.

2. Cut each mushroom lengthwise into half and then into quarters and eighths.

3. Skin the garlic cloves and chop them.

4. Heat up the olive oil in a frying pan until a haze rises and add the garlic and mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms over high heat until they are softened and lightly caramelized. Spread them out in the pan.

5. Season the beaten egg with sea salt and pepper and pour the mixture evenly over the mushrooms. Cook until the edges are lightly browned and the omelette is set. Carefully transfer the omelette to a plate and cut into wedges.

Food Notes:

This is a good way to enjoy the natural flavors of the matsutake. Egg is a neutral platform that holds and enhances the sweetness of the mushrooms. Try to keep the omelette intact for the best presentation. You don't have to flip the omelette if you have a large enough frying pan and the egg mixture is evenly spread.

Recipe | CHAR-GRILLED MATSUTAKE

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 large matsutake mushroom

Sea salt

Method:

1. Brush the matsutake mushroom and remove any grit or compost. Gently wipe with a very lightly dampened soft kitchen cloth. Trim off the root ends.

2. Cut the matsutake thinly into slices.

3. Place each slice on the grill and watch carefully

4. When you see char marks around the edges and the mushroom begins to "sweat", it's ready. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately.

Food Notes:

This is how the Japanese enjoy the natural flavor of the matsutake. It is the simplest, but the best way to savor the full fragrance of a mushroom that embodies the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.