ONETANG Natural Dried Shiitake Mushrooms - Premium Flavors |AAA Grade Extra Dry Mushrooms for Soups Sauces Pasta and Risotto Rehydrate Quickly All Natural & Vegan | 16 Oz

For $15 (at the time of this review), you can't beat these mushrooms. You get a TON of them (realise most will at least double in size when reconstituted), they are packaged well in a tough resealable pouch, they are the more stronger-tasting Asian strain, and many of them are picture-perfect.That said, they are not ALL pretty (if that matters to you), some won't double in size, and because they might be different from what you're used to, you might think they stink. But still, you are getting more than you pay for, in my humble opinion. Just look at any mushroom product, but particularly Shiitake. These things are usually expensive, even dried.I usually let them soak in a sealed container in the fridge overnight. Like I said, there is a strong garlic-y onion-y kind of smell. It takes getting used to, but I like it now. They smell almost bad the first time you try them. Don't throw them out - they're NOT BAD (to be safe I must add "most probably"). Shiitake are SUPPOSED to kind of stink. Once they are nice and tender and plump, pat them dry and slice them into strips, and fry them up in butter with a steak and onions. Or add slices to your favorite soup or stew. I like dicing up like 2 of them, frying them in butter, and adding to a can of cream of mushroom soup, made with half and half instead of milk. Anywhere a mushroom would go good, these particular mushrooms go great. Now I'm hungry. :)In addition to the tip about soaking them in a sealed container, be sure and rip off the stems (with pliers - you'll need pliers) before soaking. The stems are tough as wood and absolutely inedible. Large asparagus bases times 10. If you wait until you soak them, they not only are tough, they are splintery and much harder to remove. It's easier to just rip them off when they are dry. Then, all you have to do is slice and/or dice away.If you're used to much more expensive dried Shiitake, you probably aren't going to be buying these anyway (unless you just want to complain about them). But, for the home cook looking to add some exotic flavor, I'd definitely recommend. Leave your expectations open if you've never had real Asian Shiitake, and give them a try. Even if you don't like them, you're not out much money.

The media could not be loaded. I grew shiitake mushrooms for a couple of year, and these dehydrated mushrooms are as close to fresh as you can get once they are hydrated. First of all 16 oz. of dehydrated mushrooms is a lot of mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are a very meaty mushroom similar to a portabello mushroom, and are best when cooked. The mushrooms in this package do include the stems. When growing these mushroom, I always removed the stems as they are very tough. I froze the stems in baggies to be used to add flavor and richness to broths. Since these mushrooms include the stems, it may be best to cut them out before hydration. You can cut them out with a scissors and save them for broth. They will hydrate and add flavor to your broth when you simmer the bones. I wouldn't use the stems in stews or soups as they are not edible and would be difficult to pick out.As for hydrating these mushrooms, I would recommend soaking them in cool water, after rinsing, for at least 24 hours to get the best flavor. You can hydrate them in hot water for less time, but the flavor and texture won't be quite as good. The soaking water smells wonderful and is good to use as a mushroom broth. It also adds a lot of flavor to broths and gravies. The mushroom broth (soaking water) can be frozen in containers for later use. To use these mushrooms after soaking they should to be cooked either by sautéing them or adding them to a recipe. I like them best when sliced and sautéed after they have been hydrated.I used these mushrooms tonight, and sautéed them with onions and portabellas to go with steak. These mushrooms were very similar to the portabellas in flavor and texture, and the taste exactly very close to the fresh shiitake mushrooms I used to grow. I would recommend these mushrooms as long as you dehydrate them long enough and remove the tough stems. Since shiitake mushrooms are very dense, they take much longer to hydrate than most dehydrated foods. In my opinion, nothing beats fresh, but these mushrooms are a very good alternative when fresh is not available.I hope this review was helpful for you.

I keep dried mushrooms in my pantry. I dont use them all the time, but just enough to warrant my purchasing a huge 5 lb bag-- best price per ounce too. Worry about them going bad? Nah, dried mushrooms last indefinitely. A lot of foods are like that. Store them well, and they are going to be totally fine for years to come. Good prepper food. No shortage of info to be found regarding this.That being said, my bag has a best by date of Feb 2025-- couple years out. Best by is really only an guarantee of freshness, taste, and nutritional value. After that, it is possible for there to be a decrease in quality, etc, but it depends on the food. Dried mushrooms are not affected by time so much.Any dried vegetable or fruit wont rehydrate to perfection. Soaking is very important, not just tossing in when cooking (ie, dont think that they have been "soaked" because they were added to a long simmer soup). I find it best to soak before actual cooking or other uses. Stems take way longer to soften up, so it may be best to remove those as soak separately.I like shiitake for its mild flavor and high nutrient value. I ay use fresh white cap or portabello mushrooms then add in some dried (well, soaked) shiitake to give added boost.Huge bag. Like size of a bed pillow. I dont store them in any fancy complicated way. I take out what I think I will use over the course of a month, then just tape the bag closed and store in cool dark area. If I am motivated, I may divide these up into jars, baggies, or mylar bags just for ease of storing. If not, the mushrooms are fine in the bag they came in.