Serve Stuffed Shiitake Mushrooms as Appetizers

Spring is in full swing and shopping for produce has become fun again. The aisles of my local grocer are lined with brightly colored fruits and vegetables and every trip holds the promise of finding something completely new and unexplored. But it isnt always the new things that excite and inspire me. The other day, I found some gorgeous shiitake mushrooms with caps so thick that for a brief moment I thought I might be looking at baby portabellas. Were it not for the arresting aroma coming from the display, I may have moved on, but the savory scent of the mushrooms hooked me by the nose and drew me towards them. Back at home, I thought about chopping them up and throwing them in a stir-fry, but to desecrate these majestic brown caps seemed downright wasteful, and so I decided to use them whole. After much deliberation, I decided to stuff them with a Chinese-style pork filling similar to what I put into my baozi. Its an incredibly flavorful filling made with pork, scallions and ginger, making it a good pairing for the pungent mushrooms These stuffed shiitakes make for a great appetizer individually, but theyre also substantial enough to make for a filling meal with a bowl of rice.

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Marc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.