Do shitake have more of a beef flavor or something?
by xboxhaxorz
1 Comment
Sanpaku
Dried shiitake powder has replaced other umami ingredients like Better than Bouillon, Marmite, and Bragg’s in my kitchen. I still keep some Japanese and Chinese soy sauce, and of course some MSG.
Does dried shiitake taste like beef? Not quite. The base flavor is closer to the most basic homemade chicken broth, which few have tasted as usually there’s usually other umami ingredients like yeast extract (Marmite) or hydrolyzed soy protein (Bragg’s), in addition to the usual aromatics (onions carrots celery garlic) herbs (thyme) and colorings (annatto) in most commercial broths or homemade stocks. Dried shiitake just taste of umami and earth to me, and that makes it really useful for those like me who have decided they don’t want every savory dish to taste of yeast.
To get it to something more like a beef flavor, I’d probably add salt, some neutral fat (canola in my kitchen) for mouthfeel, and small amounts of of smoke flavor (smoked paprika), black pepper, a little sugar to better balance flavor, and some Chinese dark soy sauce (to get the color into the right range).
Looking at OPs recipe, I’m not so sure why the ginger, oregano, onion, and garlic is in there (you’re going to have those in any recipe that calls for faux beef broth), and I’m not fond of the use of nutritional yeast, as aforementioned, I don’t want every savory dish to taste of yeast.
1 Comment
Dried shiitake powder has replaced other umami ingredients like Better than Bouillon, Marmite, and Bragg’s in my kitchen. I still keep some Japanese and Chinese soy sauce, and of course some MSG.
Does dried shiitake taste like beef? Not quite. The base flavor is closer to the most basic homemade chicken broth, which few have tasted as usually there’s usually other umami ingredients like yeast extract (Marmite) or hydrolyzed soy protein (Bragg’s), in addition to the usual aromatics (onions carrots celery garlic) herbs (thyme) and colorings (annatto) in most commercial broths or homemade stocks. Dried shiitake just taste of umami and earth to me, and that makes it really useful for those like me who have decided they don’t want every savory dish to taste of yeast.
To get it to something more like a beef flavor, I’d probably add salt, some neutral fat (canola in my kitchen) for mouthfeel, and small amounts of of smoke flavor (smoked paprika), black pepper, a little sugar to better balance flavor, and some Chinese dark soy sauce (to get the color into the right range).
Looking at OPs recipe, I’m not so sure why the ginger, oregano, onion, and garlic is in there (you’re going to have those in any recipe that calls for faux beef broth), and I’m not fond of the use of nutritional yeast, as aforementioned, I don’t want every savory dish to taste of yeast.