Save the Eels

Instead of serving unagi, freshwater Japanese eel, Portland, Oregon's BTU Brasserie substitutes dried shiitake mushrooms for the now-endangered species. Reconstituted, dusted in cornstarch, wok-fried, and lavished in a sticky sugar-soy sauce, the mushrooms replicate eel's moist, meaty flavor and have a crisp, smoke-kissed mahogany skin.