PINE MUSHROOMS

I have a strong memory of me as a kid, alone, sitting in a car parked on the side of a road waiting for my parents for a few hours. Why was I stuck in a car by myself?

The story was that my parents went matsutake (pine mushroom) picking in BC and my mom got lost. So my dad went searching for her and left me in the car in case she found her way back and to prevent me from getting lost. All I remember was that it got dark, I waited for about three hours, and I really had to go pee. In the end, everything ended up OK, we had a bag full of mushrooms and all heads were accounted for.

I went by Fujiya the other day and noticed that they are selling matsutake mushrooms and felt the need to pick up a pair. I took them home and cut them up and made a dish my mother taught me, matsutake gohan (pine mushroom rice).

Basically add cut matsutake mushrooms, carrots, cooked chicken cubes, chicken broth, sake, hon dashi, and soy sauce in your rice cooker and hit cook. My mom would also add some Crown Royal for some reason. There are tons of recipes on the internet.

I tried the matsutake prior to cooking and they weren't as flavourful as I remember them to be. They were actually quite bland and a little firm. Either my memory is off or the grade of the matsutake was very poor.

For those who don't know, the matsutake mushroom is a delicacy in Japan and can fetch a really high price. These two mushrooms were just over 6 bucks at the store but a high quality matsutake can go for 2000 dollars per kg (according to Wiki).

They are a local product and are raved about in Japan so for those two reasons alone you really should try them out. One of those things that if you live in BC you should be able to say that you tried them once.

You could make the rice with shitake mushrooms or any other type of mushroom.


Matt