Eats shoots and leaves

Make your own dashi broth

For hundreds of years, Chinese medicine has had a serious crush on the shiitake mushroom. Shiitake compounds called lentinans and beta-glucan polysaccharides are believed to stimulate the immune system by activating certain macrophages and killer T-cells that usually declare war on foreign invaders. I like to think of shiitake as my personal immune-system defibrillator.

In lab studies, shiitake extract has slowed the growth of certain tumours in some cell cultures. But not in all cell cultures, highlighting the complexity surrounding the use of shiitake extract. Scientists are still unsure as to why this is — some conjectures include the ability of beta-glucans to trick the immune system into thinking it is, in fact, under attack.

Perhaps the body reacts by releasing its finest ninja stars into the bloodstream, or sending armed drones to survey the entire area. Who knows? More clinical trials are under way to understand which compounds in shiitake may be effective for which immunological conditions. But given that shiitake are damned delicious, I’m happy to mill into them while the scientists sort out their superpowers. Maybe it’s time to start offering laureates to vegetables?

This dashi is terrific in vegetarian stews where the depth of bone broth or chicken stock is noticeably missing. You can find packets of dried shiitake in delis and health stores across the country. And kombu is now readily available in Supervalu and Dunnes Stores nationwide.