John Daub: So here we are in the forests of Yamagata.
Autumn is the perfect time to go mushroom-hunting.
This place, Yamagata, is only 3 hours away by Shinkansen from Tokyo.
You'd think you know mushrooms, until you come to Japan!
There are so many kinds of edible mushrooms here,
many quite unusual.
So what are they? How do you eat them?
From the forest, the farm, and the supermarket, to the table!
We'll fill our basket, deep-fry them as tempura,
in this ultimate Japanese mushroom adventure.
So I hope you enjoy this mushroom guide!
Announcer: "Irasshaimase!" (Welcome!)
Peter von Gomm: ONLY in JAPAN.
John Daub: We started in the early morning.
So we're descending deep into the forests of Yamagata, not that far from "Zao" and..
..you could see this is not an established path,
but I have a good feeling we're gonna be finding some really tasty mushrooms..
..in here.
Where exactly is here?
This area of Japan is called Tohoku.
Located on the north end of Japan's main island.
Yamagata is on the Sea of Japan's side, about a 3-hour Shinkansen ride from Tokyo.
I started this journey at Yamagata Station,
accessible with the JR East Welcome Rail Pass,
which gives me 3 days of unlimited travel around Tohoku.
From Yamagata Station, we drove about 30 minutes into the forests,
which surround the city.
The location recommended is here, between the city and Zao Onsen.
We'll gather what we can find,
and eat them at a log cabin in the Nishizawa pasture, which looks like this!
But first, we have to get through this, and find our lunch.
It's as hard as it looks. There are no paths here, just vegetation,
and mushroom experts know exactly where to look.
[John Daub grunting in background]
They come back here every few days to spots they know,
where certain mushroom varieties grow.
We found our first edible mushrooms here, "nameko".
(You really found them!)
Further into the forest, we found some large flat mushrooms, called "mukitake".
[Ikuko Sato speaking in background]
Ikuko Sato: (It probably takes about a week, about 7 days to get this big.)
John Daub: This is Sato-san, a profes- sional mushroom hunter,
and expert in fungi.
Ikuko Sato: (This is bigger than the one before.)
John Daub: It's advisable to come with a guide,
so you don't eat something that's poisonous.
There's some of that in here too. You'll find the mushrooms on tree trunks,
fallen limbs, cracks in the vegetation, and on the Earth's floor.
Just watch where you step.
There are so many colors and shapes, like this one in here!
Oh! Ikuko Sato: (Can you see it there?)
John Daub: (Yes!)
It was hard to miss it because the color was so unique.
Ikuko Sato: (You can see the arc they're growing in.)
John Daub: It's a lavender-purple color.
It's an edible variety called "murasaki shimeji".
Ikuko Sato: (Pick it up at the bottom.) John Daub: (I picked it pretty easily.)
(I've never seen anything like this before. Is it grape flavored?)
Ikuko Sato: (No, but it's really delicious.)
John Daub: Other mushroom hunters share their findings.
There's also a lot of competition out here.
It's good to move fast and keep mushroom spots a secret,
or someone else might grab them in a week or so, when they grow back.
We put all the mushrooms we found together. It's quite a lot.
Mindful not to take more than we needed.
There's a lot of mushrooms out here, but what about at the supermarket?
I went to a few of my local shops to see what they had available.
In total, I found 15 different varieties!
When I came to Japan more than 20 years ago,
seeing so many varieties of mushrooms was mind-boggling,
I had no idea how to eat them!
The Incredible Japanese Mushroom Supermarket Guide!
These pinkish-red mushrooms are "masutake".
To be honest, I don't know how these can be eaten, but they're colorful,
and available in late autumn.
"Maitake", is translated as "dancing mushroom".
They're feathery-looking, and perfect as tempura, or sauteed.
"Eringi". These are versatile, spongy, springy in the mouth.
They're meaty when cooked, not much flavor raw.
I like them grilled with butter, or barbecued.
"Portabella". These mushrooms are very international,
and I see them a lot more and more in Japanese supermarkets.
They're large and they can make a good burger when eaten whole.
"Shimofuri hiratake". It's a new type of farmed mushroom,
produced through the cross-breeding of European and Japanese "hiratake".
"Shimofuri" means marbling. Chewy texture, great in soup and stir-fries.
"Kuroawabitake". It's a black abalone mushroom that has a flat,
fan-like cap used in stir-fries and soups.
Kind of hard, and almost crunchy in the mouth.
"Matsutake", the diamond of mushrooms in Japan. Usually quite expensive,
they're often steamed with rice for their spicy aromatic odor.
High-grade "matsutake" can cost as much as one thousand dollars per kilogram!
"Enoki", these little guys are springy and chewy in the mouth. Great in miso soup,
"nabemono", stir-fries, and sometimes wrapped and grilled with bacon and cheese.
"Bunashimeji". In the wild, they have a strong bitterness, but when farmed,
they're mild. Used in pastas, salads, and even as a cure for hangovers!
"Hanabiratake", or cauliflower mushroom. It's known for its medicinal powers,
and even nicknamed the "immune mushroom".
A chemical found in it is also used in cancer-curing drugs.
Great fried and in soups.
"Kakinokitake", or persimmon-tree mushroom is great in miso soup, pasta, tempura,
or hot pots.
"Nameko" is another mushroom found farmed year-round, but also easy to find in forests.
A staple of miso soup, it has a slight nutty taste.
"Shiitake". This is one of my favorites, farmed year-round. It's great sliced,
and in Japanese cuisine like in tofu,
but I love them grilled with meat and a little soy sauce.
"Namakikurage". These are also called wood-ear mushrooms,
and I see them a lot in ramen. They're pleasantly soft,
but break apart well when bitten. They look like shriveled-up ears,
but don't worry, they can't hear you talking about them.
That's all that I can find at the supermarket.
I'll have a fridge full of mushrooms for the next few days.
If you're not sure what to do with them, make a "nabe" hot pot!
It's perfect in the fall, or winter, to stay warm.
It was time to cook what we found. Sato-san had several dishes prepared,
tempura being a popular one. Wash them well and cook them, but again,
make sure you have an expert with you, to make sure they're safe to eat.
Butter yaki. Cooking the mushrooms in but- ter is also quite popular, and delicious.
Miso soup as well.
The taste of freshly-picked and cooked mushrooms in the fall is fantastic!
The butter yaki and tempura are perfect after a day of hiking or mushroom hunting.
"Kinoko" is translated as mushroom. I asked Sato-san why she loves "kinoko" so much.
A lot comes from cooking and discovering new ways to eat them.
Ikuko Sato: (I sometimes question if I can prepare that mushroom.)
(There's this element of surprise with "kinoko" that really appeals to me.)
(Like adding "kinoko" to daikon radish, or "kinoko" soup and "kinoko" rice.)
(No matter what, it never tastes bad.)
(There are some ways to prepare that I don't know yet. I think to myself:)
("Wow, I never knew I could eat it like this".)
(I can always make these kinds of discoveries.)
(So that's what keeps me coming back to the mountains.)
John Daub: It's really interesting to see the mushrooms growing naturally in the forest,
up in the hills of Yamagata. So for some contrast,
I came here to a mushroom farm or factory, where they're growing inside these white domes.
The Mushroom Stand is a restaurant where you'll also find farmed mushrooms.
Situated along a river among the hills, the weather is always cool and moist,
perfect for mushrooms.
I was guided to the mushroom houses by CEO Nagasawa-san.
Inside are tiered beds of soil, filled with mushrooms.
It takes about 14 days for them to mature, and be picked for sale.
They grow both brown and white mushrooms here. The size determines the price.
Mitsuyoshi Nagasawa: (This area is spread out better.)
(These will be bigger.)
John Daub: You'll sometimes find jumbo mushrooms here, but most are normal sized.
[Mitsuyoshi Nagasawa speaking Japanese]
This organic mushroom farm harvests up to 4 tonnes of mushrooms daily.
Since mushrooms go well with everything, even raw, they're increasing in popularity.
Mitsuyoshi Nagasawa: (In one day, every day, in a single day,)
(4 tonnes of mushrooms, 4 tonnes a day or so in one year, that's about 1,500 tonnes.)
(Our unique process involves a growth medium,)
((the substrate that supports the fungal growth), which our company makes.)
(The official organic certification was given to us for this cultivation method.
John Daub: The process takes 10 weeks, from start to finish,
for the organic soil medium to start to grow the mushrooms, then to the harvest.
I asked what his company does with the soil afterwards.
Mitsuyoshi Nagasawa: (At the end of the harvest, we would use steam to)
(kill everything like all of the germs, bugs and fungi inside.)
(We get rid of those over 24 hours. Then we release the air and push it out, and)
(spread the soil out into the orchards or vegetable farms)
(The ingredients we use for our growth medium are carefully thought through.)
(We use beans like soybeans and coffee beans. We don't use any animal products.)
(We don't use chemical fertilizers either. That's why we're certified organic.)
(We do use gypsum, but it's all-natural. The ingredients are mineral-rich, and)
(make the mushrooms taste good.)
John Daub: So, what makes these mushrooms here different than the "kinoko" found in the wild?
Mitsuyoshi Nagasawa: (But these, even if you eat raw, you can taste the umami, and)
(realy enjoy the flavor. I think this sets it apart. And eating it raw means that)
(you're not even rinsing it, but enjoying it straight from the land so)
(we obviously make sure that it's 100% safe to do so.)
(Strictly no pesticides, chemical fertilizers,)
(or any other material that shouldn't be consumed.)
John Daub: I went to the restaurant next.
Wow, so we have an entire table filled with, I guess, mushroom cuisine.
Now, this is not specifically Japanese cuisine, this is, you know, western stuff,
but all these mushrooms are grown right here, on this farm.
So, we have pizza, burgers, and.. just a bowl of mushrooms,
which you could eat.. raw just like this.
But that burger is talking to me.
Truly an amazing trip.
Traveling for food is one of the pleasures of Japan's four seasons,
and I was thankful for the Rail Pass, that let me travel around this area easily!
Thank you, JR East, and see you up in Tohoku again soon.
-- English captioning by @Peso255 --
"Mata ne." (See you later.)