Ingredients

• 2 Cups Water
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Liquid Smoke
• 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
• 1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• 1 (2.47-Ounce) Package Dried Sugimoto Koshin Shiitake Mushrooms

Instructions

1. To make the bacon, begin by whisking together the water, soy sauce, olive oil, liquid smoke, maple syrup, paprika, instant coffee, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Add the dried shiitake and stir thoroughly to combine. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface, covering and keeping all the mushrooms submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate and let soak for at least 8 hours. Longer is better; 24 hours would be ideal, if possible.
2. Remove the plastic and transfer the contents, mushrooms and liquid together, to a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat until just boiling. Let rest until cool enough to handle.
3. Once the mushrooms are fully hydrated, preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
4. Remove the shiitake from the brine, remove the stems and save them for another recipe. Slice the caps into 1-cm wide strips.
5. Spread out the mushrooms into as even a layer as possible on your prepared baking sheet, without any pieces overlapping. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, carefully flipping the strips every 15 minutes or so to keep the entire batch cooking evenly.
6. Cook until the mushrooms are dry to the touch and highly aromatic. Straight out of the oven, the mushrooms will still be slightly soft to the touch but will crisp up nicely once cool.
7. Let cool completely. Stored at room temperature in an airtight container, the bacon will keep for up to two weeks.
   

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.