“Matsutake” (Japanese 松茸, pine mushroom, Tricholoma Matsutake) is the common name for a mushroom that grows in Asia, Scandinavian Europe, and North America. Very popular with the Japanese, matsutake generally grows under specific trees, with which it establishes a symbiotic relationship, especially at the level of the roots. In Japan, it is more often associated with red pine.
This mushroom is difficult to find in the forests of the archipelago, which is why its price is very high on the market stalls.
Local production of matsutake in Japan has been severely reduced over the past fifty years due to the Pine Nematode or Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (a transparent mycophagous worm), greatly influencing the harvest. Indeed, the annual harvest of matsutake in Japan is now less than 1000 tonnes, and the supply of Japanese mushrooms is largely met by imports from China, Korea, North America, the Pacific as well. than in the North West and North of Europe. The price of matsutake on the Japanese market is therefore very dependent on its quality, availability and origin. At the start of the season, it can go up to $ 2,000 per kilogram, but the average value for imported products is around $ 90 per kilogram.
If this mushroom makes your mouth water like us, find here the recipe for miso soup with matsutake, a real treat for the taste buds!
Ingredients:
8 to 10 stems of matsutake (or other mushrooms of your choice)
4 cups of water
4 tablespoons miso paste
1 onion cut into thin rings
2 bean sprouts
1 small carrot cut into thin rounds
1 small daikon, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of sake (optional)
1 small bunch spring onion or green onion, finely chopped
Instructions:
Clean the matsutake stalks and cut them into thick slices.
In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
Add the matsutake slices, onion, bean sprouts, carrot, daikon and sake. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the miso paste. Mix well to completely dissolve the miso.
Serve the soup in bowls and garnish with spring onions or green onion.
Enjoy your lunch!
And to present your miso soup, nothing better than a ceramic soup bowl with typical Japanese patterns to which you will associate a pair of bamboo chopsticks and a ceramic or wooden spoon. You will find on our Nipponboutique site all the ceramics to set up a table worthy of a traditional Japanese restaurant.
