Chef Takumi
Aspara-bacon (アスパラベーコン, bacon-wrapped asparagus)
Aspara-bacon is late-spring asparagus treated with common sense: thin bacon, hot grill, and a last brush of shōyu and mirin so the spear stays sweet while the wrap crisps.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Shiitake Kushiyaki (椎茸串焼き, grilled shiitake skewers)
Created by
Fresh shiitake need almost no help: skewer them cap-up, grill until their own juice gathers in the gills, then salt and eat before that little broth is lost.
Appetizers & Snacks
Japanese
Dinner Party
BBQ
10 min
Active Time
8 min cook•18 min total
Yield4 servings
Agood shiitake cap is already a small bowl. Turn it gill-side up over the fire and it fills with its own broth, dark and shining, as if the mushroom were quietly making soup for itself. This is not a trick dish. It is an ingredient dish, which means sourcing is most of the work.
Choose fresh shiitake with thick caps, pale firm gills, and no sour smell. If they feel tired or wet, don't ask the grill to rescue them. Kushiyaki means skewered and grilled, and here the skewer's job is simple: hold the caps steady so the juice doesn't spill. Cap-up is the detail that decides it. Turn them over and the best part drops into the fire, a small tragedy, but a real one.
We salt at the end because salt pulls water. Add it too early and the mushroom gives up its broth before the cap has tightened and sweetened over the heat. Grill until the edges soften, the surface glistens, and the gills hold a little pool. Then salt, lift the skewer carefully, and drink that juice first. Nothing hidden. Just shiitake at its shun, its prime, and a little fire.
Kushiyaki, food grilled on skewers, grew from older hearth and street-grilling practices and became especially visible in modern izakaya and yakitori shops, where mushrooms and vegetables sit beside chicken on the grill. Shiitake cultivation on hardwood logs was established in Japan by the Edo period, with forested regions such as Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Kii Peninsula becoming important producing areas. Grilling fresh shiitake whole preserves the cap's natural juice, a method that suits the mushroom better than slicing it thin.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large fresh shiitake mushrooms
Quantity
12
stems trimmed flush with the caps
neutral oil
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for the grate or grill pan
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
or to taste
sudachi, yuzu, or lemon wedge (optional)
Quantity
1 small
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large fresh shiitake mushroomsstems trimmed flush with the caps | 12 |
| neutral oilfor the grate or grill pan | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea saltor to taste | 1/2 teaspoon |
| sudachi, yuzu, or lemon wedge (optional) | 1 small |
Equipment Needed
- •Bamboo or metal skewers
- •Charcoal grill, gas grill, or ridged grill pan
- •Tongs
Instructions
- 1
Choose and trim
Choose shiitake with thick, springy caps and clean pale gills. Wipe them with a barely damp cloth if needed, but don't soak them. Mushrooms drink water readily, and a soaked cap steams itself before it grills. Trim the stems flush so the caps can sit level, gill-side up.
- 2
Skewer the caps
Thread three caps onto each skewer through the side of the cap, not straight down through the center. Keep them gill-side up and close enough to support one another, but not pressed tight. The skewer is there to steady the caps so their juice can gather instead of spilling.
If using bamboo skewers, soak them for at least 20 minutes first. Wet bamboo chars more slowly, giving the mushrooms time to cook before the skewer scorches. - 3
Heat the grill
Heat a charcoal grill, gas grill, or ridged grill pan to medium-high. Oil the grate lightly. You want a quick, clean heat that marks the underside and tightens the cap without drying the gills. Too low, and the mushroom slumps before it sweetens.
- 4
Grill cap-up
Set the skewers on the grill gill-side up and leave them that way. Grill for 5 to 8 minutes, moving them only if a hot spot threatens to scorch one side. Watch the gills: they will darken, the cap edges will relax, and a glossy pool will form in each mushroom. That liquid is the dish.
- 5
Salt and serve
Lift the skewers carefully so the juice stays in the caps. Sprinkle with sea salt just before serving, and add one small squeeze of sudachi, yuzu, or lemon only if you want brightness. Salt at the end because early salt pulls out moisture too soon. Eat while the caps still hold their broth.
Chef Tips
- •Buy shiitake with thick caps. Thin caps dry before they give you that little pool of broth, and this dish has no sauce to hide behind.
- •Don't remove the gills. They hold the mushroom's juice, and they give you the dark, clean flavor you're after.
- •Use a robata grill if you have one, or any charcoal grill, gas grill, or ridged grill pan that gives steady heat. The method matters more than the romance of the tool.
- •If the mushrooms are very large, skewer two per stick rather than forcing three. Crowding tips the caps and spills the broth.
Advance Preparation
- •Trim and skewer the shiitake up to 2 hours ahead. Keep them uncovered or loosely covered in the refrigerator so the caps stay dry.
- •Do not salt ahead. Salt pulls moisture from the mushrooms, and here that moisture belongs in the cap at the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 45g)
Calories
30 calories
Total Fat
1 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
4 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
1 g
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