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Fresh enokidake keeps in a sealed plastic package for about a week in the refrigerator. They are available canned, but fresh is much better.

A one ounce package holds eight to ten shiitake. Shiitake are grown commercially in large quantities by inoculating cut logs of the shii tree with spores.

They are best when the cap is thick, the flesh firm, and the cap edges are curled under. Shiitake are available fresh or dried and packaged whole, sliced, in pieces, or crumbs, in a variety of sizes.

Fresh enokidake keeps in a sealed plastic package for about a week in the refrigerator. They are available canned, but fresh is much better.

Cut off the spongy base about one and a half inches from the bottom and rinse the mushrooms in a colander before using. Enokidake are used in soups and one-pot dishes, and are excellent in salads or in stir-fried dishes.

These mushrooms have 5-inch long stems topped by tiny round caps. They are mild-flavored, have a pleasant crispness and aroma. When enokidake get old, the caps discolor, the stems sag, and the package smells like something fermenting.

The usual way of eating mochi is simply to grill it and eat it with a flavor complement such as soy sauce or toasted nori. It will expand and puff up, somewhat like a marshmallow, and also like the latter will burn if the heat is too hot.

Every Japanese consumes a few spoonfuls a day in one form or another: as a dressing for vegetables, a pickling medium, spread on grilled foods, or in the form of miso soup.

heavily sweetened wine, like a thin golden-colored syrup, used only in cooking to add a mild sweetness and to glaze grilled foods when used in a basting sauce. Use sugar as a substitute: 1 tsp sugar for 1 Tbsp mirin.

If you are dieting, it is a good thing to add to your menu because it has no calories. Japanese people like to eat it for its consistency, which they find pleasing. It is said to have a laxative effect, and clean out the intestines. It is often advised as a food for diabetics in Japan because it fills the stomach and cuts the appetite.