Shitake mushrooms

I thought I'd squeeze in a little flavour before I head out the door for work.
When I made the soba noodle salad for Australia Day I simmered fresh shitake mushrooms in a beautiful broth I was taught by one of my Head chefs (what seems like ions ago!). Chef Thomas was German, a big burley looking bloke with a very furrowed brow, he use to walk through the Sheraton kitchens with his sous chef (an Austrian) looking very scary- that was until you got to know him and he really was a gentle giant. Anyway chef T was an executive chef over in Asian for quite a number of years before he landed the Sheraton in Hobart, Tasmania and he had many tricks up his sleeve, he wasn't all about the sauerkraut and sausage as I first thought.
This recipe has stuck with me all these years because it is so tasty, versatile and once your mushrooms are soft you can store them in the fridge for about a week. The broth works well on both fresh and dried shitakes so when your stir fry needs a bit of a lift or you want to add them to a salad you will be really please with the result.
Of course the kids think they are alien poops but they think that about any vegetable that is brown! I figure when they can eat a roast mushroom without dry reaching perhaps then I will offer them a tender, flavour sodden shitake but until then they are all mine......and Nic's

Shitake broth

1 cup chicken broth (or veg if vego)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1-2 red chillies split in half
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 inch piece ginger sliced
5 stems of coriander (cilantro)
1 pkt or 1/2 cup shitake mushrooms fresh or dried

Add all the ingredients together adn bring to the boil.
Once boiling turn down to a simmer.
Simmer until mushrooms are soft in the centre
Cool and store in your broth.
Remove shitake from liquid and slice thinly when required

Note: Dry mushrooms will take longer than fresh, about 10 minutes