Maitake Umeshiso Maki

Here is my ode to izakaya-style cuisine. Izakaya, if you do not know, is a casual type of Japanese bar serving small plates and strong drinks. Just about every major city in the U.S has one; Katie and me really enjoyed the izakaya experiences we had in Berkeley, CA and Washington, D.C.

Umeshiso Maki rolls are made traditionally with with sardine filet (Iwashi, in Japanese), though I subbed out the fish for some maitake mushrooms I found. Ume means plum, and is short for umeboshi, a Japanese salted and pickled plum. Shiso is an asian variety of mint. The pairing of sour, salty ume with herbaceous and cooling shiso dates back to long ago in Japan. The combination of the two is believed to aid in and promote digestive health. You should be able to find both at your local Asian grocery store. If you cannot find shiso, you may substitute mint or even basil.

I suggest marinating the maitake mushrooms in the umeshiso paste for at least an hour. Over night wouldn’t be a bad idea either. The longer you let the marinade flavors permeate the mushroom, the better. You can skip the long marinade process if you’re really hungry, however. Simply lather the paste onto the mushrooms and proceed as normal.

This recipe works great for any mushroom, or vegetable for that matter.

If you're into it, I suggest pairing this dish with a nice Japanese single-malt whiskey!

• 1/4 pound maitake mushrooms, scrubbed and rinsed, separated into 1-inch wide strips
• 80g white miso
• 30g mirin
• 30g umeboshi, or Japanese salted pickled plums, de-stoned and chopped
• 10 shiso leaves, finely chiffonade
• 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• A pinch of salt

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Dry-saute the mushrooms strips until their water has cooked out, about 7 or 8 minutes. The goal is to make the mushrooms pliable, or roll-able. Set aside to cool once so.

Combine the miso, mirin and chopped umeboshi. Dress the cooked mushrooms in this paste and set aside to marinate for an hour. You can also let them marinate in the fridge over night. Technically, something marinated overnight in miso becomes misozuke, or miso-pickled. So that's cool. Meanwhile, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt to form the dredge. Set aside.

Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Roll the mushrooms up lengthwise and skewer them on a bamboo skewer. When the pan is hot, add the oil. Dredge the mushroom rolls in the dredge mixture on all sides. Try not to get any dredge on the inside of the rolls. Pan-fry the mushroom rolls on all sides to achieve even browning.

To serve, remove the rolls from the skewers and place them on a plate. Garnish with chiffonade shiso and enjoy.