Mushrooms Books

“The refreshing scent of the turnip, the succulent, natural sweetness of the flesh...
The fine aftertaste of its slight bitterness...
And the thing adding richness to its flavor...
...is the brown paste in the middle of it!"
"Kaibara-san, what is this?!"
"It's braised turnip with white mushroom paste.
The important part is the dashi... or the "fond de veau," as it's called. You make an elegant and savory broth which is like an Ichiban-dashi in Japanese cooking by using the bones of a fine calf and quality beef."
"I see! The mushroom paste inside gives it its punch!"
"It's mashed mushroom mixed with butter and cream."
"That is the importance of finesse in cooking...
A mediocre cook is likely to make a mistake when getting ahold of such a fine turnip. For example, he'll do something like making some nice dashi and quickly simmering the turnip in it.
But that is a mistake . Turnips have a muddy scent. And it is that scent that poses a problem!
Now, the muddiness of a turnip is something to be savored... but when placed together with something that goes well with it, it becomes far more flavorful .
For example, you can't expect the turnip to do much good when it is placed inside a clear soup. But when it's used inside a miso soup made with hatcho miso, the flavor of the turnip becomes lucid...
As you can see from this example, it's important what you put with it. And for this dish, I decided to use white mushrooms.
The white mushroom itself is an interesting kind of mushroom that can't draw out its best on its own, but will prove its worth when it is mixed with oil or dairy products and heated.
Its color will turn dark when heated, but the texture turns smooth and gentle, and the fragrance hidden inside it becomes apparent, giving birth to a deep, rich flavor.
When that mushroom paste combines with the flavor of the turnip...
they will multiply each other's taste upon your taste buds.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Vegetables