Tree mushrooms. How to cook, Chinese recipes, Korean

Publication in the group: Dishes with mushrooms

Tree mushrooms are a popular and favorite ingredient in Asian cuisine, allowing you to prepare an amazing number of simple and delicious dishes. Residents of the East, known for their reverent attitude to health, constantly include these unique gifts of nature in their diet, containing a whole range of microelements and beneficial substances required by the body.

General principles for preparing wood mushrooms

The main place of growth of the presented delicacy product, which mainly lives on alder trees, is China, but sometimes such mushrooms are also found in the eastern forests of Russia.

The prepared product has a number of characteristic features, so before starting the technological process it is advisable to take into account the following useful information:

The Chinese mushroom, known as “muer” (Auricularia auriculata), has a delicate jelly structure with a pronounced crunch, a sweetish tint and a neutral taste, and therefore is not used to create independent food. However, almost all varieties of such mushrooms are combined with almost any food, included in a variety of salads, side dishes, stewed/fried treats, first courses and hot/cold appetizers;
In addition to the Chinese muer, the most famous and sought-after mushrooms in oriental cooking include oyster mushrooms, griffola curly mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese black mushroom (muer), and chaga deciduous;
woody fruiting bodies have a characteristic smell of dust and smoke, which completely disappear immediately after soaking in water;
When using this product, you need to keep in mind the fact that after being in liquid, these organisms can increase in volume by 6 and even 8 times. At the same time, the smallest piece of some types of mushrooms is able to absorb about 250 ml of water, therefore, before preparing the selected dish, you should correctly calculate the required amount of mushrooms and the liquid component of the food;
in Russian stores (in Chinese or in vegetable departments) these products are presented in pressed or dried form. Fresh tree mushrooms from the Middle Kingdom are extremely rare, which is explained by the strictest conditions and shelf life;
mushroom products are supplied to Russia in vacuum packaging, which does not affect the taste and nutritional properties of the processed product. However, such an effect is possible only under one condition - you need to have information about the correct method for restoring such a component. You cannot process the dried product with hot or just boiled water - this technique will turn high-quality mushrooms into an unappetizing and inedible mass, unless the recipe for preparing the dish requires it;
Of fundamental importance for the correct use of dried mushroom mass is a careful study of the instructions on the pre-treatment of mushrooms recommended by the manufacturer. The procedure for most subspecies of spore organisms has practically no significant differences; it necessarily includes soaking, sorting and cleaning the mass;
Chinese black mushrooms (in Japan they are called “kikutare”) when dried, the volume of the product is greatly reduced. After the soaking process, the fruiting bodies restore their original appearance, then they should be used immediately, since this product is not suitable for storage.

Wood mushrooms, which can be prepared using different technologies (boiled in soup, fried, stewed, pickled or salted), as a rule, are not subjected to heat treatment after soaking. Blooming fruit bodies should be chopped in the recommended way, combined with any boiled meat, other ingredients, spices and dressings, the combination with which will allow you to experience all the beauty of these delicious ingredients.

How to choose

If you purchase dried mushrooms, and most often muer is sold in this form, you should pay attention to their appearance. They should be dry and without any droplets on the bag.

Then look at the color, which can be black or dark gray, but always even, without green or white splashes. If such spots are present, the mushrooms have most likely been wet and moldy. This product is not worth taking.

How to store

It is recommended to store dried mushrooms in a cool, dry place, where they will be usable for a very long time, up to 5 years. Soaked mushrooms are stored in a closed bowl with water for no more than 2-3 days.

In cooking

Muer has an almost neutral taste, due to which they combine perfectly with any food. They are used to prepare numerous stewed and fried dishes, first courses, side dishes, cold appetizers and salads. Muer is rarely used as a main dish due to the same neutrality of taste.

Before cooking, this product must be soaked in warm water for about 3-4 hours. After this, the mushrooms increase their volume 6-8 times. Next, you need to remove the tough root part and you can cook.

In Korea, fried muer with spices is popular. To prepare this dish, add red pepper and ground cilantro to a heated frying pan, pour olive oil over them and fry for about 2 minutes. Then add mushrooms and cook for 7-10 minutes. Cooled mushrooms are served with herbs. If the product is part of a salad, then you need to add salty and hot sauces. In addition, muer is often consumed as noodles, cut into thin strips and placed in boiling broth for 20 minutes.

These mushrooms are also often used as a side dish for fried potatoes, boiled rice or pork. Funchoza salad with muer is popular in modern cuisine. In addition to muer, it contains rice noodles, carrots, cabbage stalks, spices and herbs. To prepare it, pour boiling water over the vermicelli for 10-15 minutes, meanwhile frying the cabbage stalk and grated carrots with spices, then add the mushrooms cut into strips and fry for about 10-15 minutes. After this, cover the pan with a lid and let stand for about 10 minutes. After this time, the noodles are mixed with mushrooms, soy sauce and fresh cilantro are added and cooled in the refrigerator for several hours.

Calorie content

Like most mushrooms, the calorie content of muer is very small - 33 kcal. Therefore, it can also be used in dietary nutrition.

Preparing mushrooms

The presented product is mostly produced at specialized enterprises, therefore the risk of poisoning by fruiting bodies is practically absent. The main stage that determines the final result of creating any dish using dried wood mushrooms is their pre-processing, during which the organisms compressed to a minimum size will be returned to their original state.

Preparation of fresh or dried muer consists of the following steps:

remove the required amount of raw materials from the packaging, taking into account its increase in volume by at least 5 times;
Place the semi-finished product in a spacious bowl, pour in slightly hot drinking water, completely covering the entire mass. At the same time, there should be enough space in the container for the plates to bloom under the influence of moisture. The use of boiling water for such purposes is excluded, because one of the main tasks of the upcoming procedure is to preserve both the amazing natural taste of “tree ears” and the enzymes, amino acids and large amounts of vitamin D they contain;
leave the workpiece in the liquid for about 1.5–2 hours in this form, then sort out the soaked mushrooms, rinse them thoroughly, changing the water several times, and then put them in the refrigerator for 3–4 hours, or even better, overnight;
drain the liquid from the blossoming mass, cut off the lower dark part with which the mushrooms are attached to the tree - the hard base of the fruiting body is not suitable for food. You should always remember that the cap tastes very delicate, the stem is hard, suitable for decorating sauces and liquid dishes.

Before using mushrooms, it is recommended to season them with 9 percent vinegar, then cook according to the recipe instructions.

Korean tree mushroom appetizer

The peculiarities of a variety of warm, hot or chilled salads in Korean national cuisine are their richly fiery taste and extremely pronounced aroma. The mushroom appetizer is no exception, and the preparation of the dish is very quick and simple.

Ingredients

To prepare the dish you will need the components indicated in the table:

List of products	Quantity
Vegetable oil	40–50 ml
Bulb	1 PC.
Tree mushrooms	2 packs of 20 g each
Soy sauce	80–100 ml
Garlic	3–5 cloves
Canned corn	1 jar

Step-by-step cooking process

The sequence of stages of creating a treat:

Soak the mushrooms in warm drinking water in the familiar order, then drain the liquid, blot the fruiting bodies that have blossomed after the procedure with disposable towels, then cut into small pieces that can be conveniently taken with wooden sticks.
Peel the onion, chop the head into thin half rings, saute the vegetable in a pre-heated frying pan with oil until half cooked.
Add the mushroom mixture to the onion, mix the ingredients, fry them for 5 minutes.
Open a can of canned corn, strain the solution, and add the yellow grains to the food being prepared.
Add about 1 tbsp to the composition. pre-boiled water, simmer the mass over medium heat with occasional stirring until the liquid has completely evaporated.
Add soy sauce to the contents of the frying pan, peeled garlic cloves passed through a hand press.
Continue the heating process until the resulting mass begins to boil, then immediately turn off the heat.

The proposed recipe for a Korean treat is basic, therefore it is recommended to add table celery, carrots processed on a special device, and chopped sweet pepper to the composition of the products. It is this vegetable mix, combined with woody mushrooms and hot spices, that makes the national snack aromatic and delicately crispy, unlike any similar dish from world cuisines.

Bon appetit!

These are the recipes for wood mushrooms in Korean. The photo shows what this unusual product for our kitchen looks like. Dishes with muer are aromatic and tasty. Mushrooms complement and reveal the taste and smell of other ingredients present in the dish. It is worth noting that the calorie content of Korean wood mushrooms is moderate, only 120 kcal per 100 g of fried mushrooms. Therefore, when eating them, you don’t have to worry about your figure - they are very light and full of protein.

Chinese tree mushroom salad

Tree mushrooms (preparing a delicious dish is very simple if you strictly follow the recipe recommendations), prepared using the proposed method, can be used as a self-sufficient food or consumed as part of other snacks, a large assortment traditionally present on the everyday and holiday tables of Chinese residents.

Tree mushrooms can be used for salad.

Preparation next.

Ingredients

To create the dish you will need:

sesame oil - 70 ml;
table vinegar - 2 tsp;
dried wood mushrooms - 200 g;
fresh cucumbers - 4 pcs.;
oyster sauce - 2 tsp;
garlic cloves - 4–5 pcs.

Step-by-step cooking process

Step-by-step preparation:

Rinse the pre-soaked mushrooms well, blot them with napkins, and cut them into small cubes.
Place the prepared product in a thick-bottomed saucepan, add filtered water to completely cover the mass, then boil the mushrooms for 35–40 minutes. over medium heat.
Pour the contents of the dish into a colander and leave the pieces of fruiting bodies in this state to get rid of excess moisture.
Wash fresh cucumbers, cut them into cubes or strips, put them in a salad bowl, lightly salt the vegetables, leave them like that for about 15 minutes, then drain the juice that has released from the slices.
Remove the peel from the garlic and grind the spice using a hand press.
Combine all the prepared ingredients, season the products with oyster sauce, vinegar and sesame oil, mix everything carefully.

The prepared treat should be left to steep for about 15–20 minutes.

Salad with mushrooms and funchose

This thin, gossamer-like, thread-like vermicelli is called “Chinese noodles,” although the birthplace of the product, widely used by the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom, is Thailand.

Sometimes this component, which does not have a rich taste and smell, is shaped like triangles, specially created for their inclusion in shark fin soup.

Ingredients

To prepare the salad you will need:

sunflower oil - optional;
muer - 2 packs;
onions - 2 pcs.;
funchose - 100 g;
fresh cucumbers - 2 pcs.;
garlic cloves - 2 pcs.;
smoked chicken - 400 g;
carrots - 2 pcs.;
soy sauce - 2 tsp;
rock salt, granulated sugar - to taste.

Step-by-step cooking process

Step-by-step method for creating food:

Peel the onion and chop it into half rings.
Coarsely grate the peeled carrots.
Cut the pre-processed mushrooms into large pieces, place them in a thick-bottomed frying pan with preheated oil along with the prepared vegetable mass, fry the food until tender.
Boil 1 liter of filtered water in a saucepan, add 1 tbsp. l. sunflower oil, add funchose without breaking the pasta. If the noodles are formed in the form of nests, they can be tied with culinary threads for ease of removal from boiling water.
Cook the product for no more than 3-4 minutes, without stirring, then immediately drain the mixture in a colander, rinse under running water, then cool and cut into small pieces with culinary scissors.
Coarsely grate the cucumbers.
Chop the smoked chicken into strips.
Finely chop the peeled garlic cloves.
Combine all the prepared ingredients in a deep salad bowl, season the products with soy sauce, granulated sugar and coarse salt. If desired, you can pepper the composition.

The prepared salad must be mixed well, left in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then served.

Udon with tree mushrooms

Tree mushrooms can be best prepared with either thin Chinese vermicelli or a similar product from Japanese cuisine. Noodles from the Land of the Rising Sun differ from funchose in the type of flour used for the dough and the size of the products, the diameter of which ranges from 2 to 4 mm.

Ingredients

For cooking you will need:

olive oil - optional;
zucchini - 2 pcs.;
carrots - 2 pcs.;
garlic cloves - 7–8 pcs.;
udon noodles - 400 g;
canned beans - 100 g;
onions - 2 pcs.;
ginger root - 60 g;
pressed mushrooms - 2 packs;
cucumbers - 2 pcs.;
soy sauce - 4 tbsp. l.;
green onion feather - 6 arrows;
sesame is a decorative element;
table vinegar - 2 tbsp. l.;
chili pepper - 2 pods;
rock salt, mayonnaise - optional.

Step-by-step cooking process

Sequence of stages of creating a dish:

Soak the wood mushrooms for 1 hour, then drain the liquid. If you want to get a particularly spicy dish, the product must be marinated in soy sauce, as they do in China, and kept in this state for up to 20 minutes.
Finely grate the peeled ginger root, add crushed garlic to the resulting mass.
Chop the eggplants into slices about 0.5 cm thick.
Coarsely chop the processed mushrooms, place them in a frying pan heated with oil, add the ginger mixture and eggplant slices.
Fry the food for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a deep salad bowl.
Remove the skins from the onions and cut the heads into small cubes.
Chop the carrots into strips.
Grind the seeded chili pods and coarsely chop the green onion.
Remove the udon from the box, soften the pasta well under running water, then place the product in boiling drinking water and cook for up to 5 minutes.
Transfer the finished noodles to a colander to remove moisture and cool completely.
Place the beans along with the processed vegetables in a container with the mushroom mixture, pour vinegar and soy sauce over the products.
Add noodles, finely chopped cucumbers, green onions to the placed ingredients, mix everything well, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Season the prepared treat with mayonnaise according to personal preference. If you exclude the sauce from the recipe, the resulting dish can safely be classified as a dietary dish.

The nutritional value

One quarter cup (7 grams) of dried black mushroom contains ():

Calories : 20 kcal
Carbohydrates : 5 grams
Protein : less than 1 gram
Fat : 0 grams
Fiber : 5 grams
Sodium : 2 mg
Cholesterol : 0 grams

As you can see, this mushroom is low in fat and calories, but especially high in fiber.

The same serving size contains small amounts of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, folate and magnesium. These Vitamins and Minerals Are Vital for Heart, Brain, and Bone Health

Summary:
Chinese black tree mushroom is low in fat, high in fiber and contains many essential vitamins and minerals.

With eggplants in coconut-pepper sauce

Wood mushrooms, which are recommended to be prepared using the proposed method, are an excellent hot snack with low calorie content and excellent taste.

The treat will pleasantly surprise vegetarians and all lovers of non-standard dishes.

Ingredients

To create food you will need:

sunflower oil - 120 ml;
onion - 240 g;
eggplants - 600 g;
tree mushrooms - 600–650 g;
bell pepper - 250 g;
coconut milk - 600 ml;
chili pod - 1 pc.;
pepper sauce - 160 ml;
green onion - 50 g;
ciabatta - 200 g;
rock salt - 15 g;
peppercorns - 10 g.

Step-by-step cooking process

The sequence of stages in creating a dish:

Heat approximately 2 liters of drinking water in a saucepan.
Pour over mushrooms for 10 minutes. boiling water until they open, then rinse the mass thoroughly under running water and place in a container with a bubbling mixture.
Boil the product for 3 minutes, then strain the liquid and cool the contents of the container.
Cut the eggplants into large pieces, chop the peeled onion into strips, and arrange the seeded pepper into small strips.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the eggplants in it until golden brown, then add the bell pepper and finely chopped chili, after 2 minutes. sprinkle onion slices.
Continue the process for another 2–3 minutes, then add the mushroom mixture to the vegetables, mix the resulting mass well, and quickly heat it for 40–50 seconds.
Season the food with spices, add pepper sauce and coconut milk, bring the mixture to a boil while constantly working with a silicone spatula, and then finish cooking.
Cut the ciabatta into slices and dry in the oven.

The treat should be served along with Italian bread, sprinkling portions of the hot appetizer with chopped green onions.

With shiitake mushrooms

The presented saprotrophic macromycete is famous for its incredible aroma and healing properties. It is no coincidence that it is compared to the famous ginseng.

Ingredients

To prepare the food you will need:

sesame and sunflower oil - 1 tsp each;
Chinese cabbage - 2 small heads;
dried shiitake - 40 g;
garlic cloves - 5–6 pcs.;
soy sauce - 2 tbsp. l.;
carrots - 2 pcs. middle length;
lemon juice - 2 tbsp. l.;
dried ginger - 2 tsp;
hot pepper - to taste.

Step-by-step cooking process

Step-by-step preparation:

The mushrooms must be left for about 5–7 hours in slightly warm drinking water, covering the product 2 fingers above the entire mass. The liquid should be replaced 2-3 times with a clean composition.
After this procedure, you need to strain the water, then put the shiitake into filtered liquid boiled in advance in a saucepan, boil the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, then drain the mass again in a colander.
Chop the cabbage and carrots into thin strips and chop the garlic.
Read also: Potatoes with champignons in the oven - 7 step-by-step cooking recipes
Combine all the processed ingredients in a salad bowl and leave them for about 15–20 minutes. in a cool place so that the products are saturated with mutual tastes and aromas.

Tree mushrooms (it is possible to prepare a dish with shiitake with other ingredients included in various recipes) in the presented version should be left for several minutes, then served.

Summing up

Chinese tree mushrooms, recipes for which you can find with photos on the Internet, will be an excellent addition to any kitchen. Combine them with meat products, poultry dishes, vegetables, put them in soups, and you will get an original, truly tasty, nutritious and healing diet, which, according to alternative medicine specialists, will act as a general tonic, lower cholesterol levels, and alleviate heart disease , vessels and much more.

Sources

https://KitayGid.ru/kuhnya/kitajskij-drevesnyj-grib
https://foodismedicine.ru/chernyy-kitayskiy-drevesnyy-grib-auricularia-polytricha/
https://edaplus.info/produce/muer.html
https://www.vashi-recepti.ru/drugoe/kitajskie-drevesnye-griby-kak-gotovit-sushenye-griby.html
https://povar.ru/recipes/kitaiskie_drevesnye_griby_muer-7857.html
https://SushiWok.ru/dub/articles/salat-iz-drevesnyh-gribov-muer/
https://www.povarenok.ru/recipes/show/21708/?page=6

Useful tips and tricks

When collecting such spore organisms growing in Russia, you need to keep in mind the fact that most of them are inedible or semi-edible, containing toxic substances. For these reasons, you should carefully study the information about such mushrooms in order to correctly distinguish between their varieties;
It is not recommended to purchase unprofessionally dried products from random sellers;
when choosing Chinese mushrooms packaged in vacuum bags, you must carefully study the information on the packaging, as well as the instructions for preparing the pressed product;
when assessing the quality of the contents of the box, you need to make sure that the mushrooms are in a dry state, there are no droplets of moisture in the bag, the color of the product is black or dark gray with an even shade without any white or green inclusions. The presence of foreign stains is a sign of mold;
The size of the containers in which Chinese products reach store shelves most often does not exceed a matchbox. However, with a package weight of 50 g, the mass of the contents of the container after softening is up to 500 g;
In almost all recipes for preparing tree mushrooms, only the caps are present in the product, which has a logical explanation - this part of the fruiting body has the best taste, rich aroma and pleasant texture. The legs are best used for fragrant sauces and soups;
It is recommended to soak the mushrooms for at least 25–30 minutes; it is better to do this overnight. The maximum duration of such a procedure should not exceed 2 days, but for the pickling process, the duration of stay in a liquid medium has the most beneficial effect on the fruiting bodies;
To cook the soup, soak the mushrooms for no longer than 1.5–2 hours, periodically checking the condition of the product by touch - as soon as the mass becomes soft, you can begin the cooking process. In this case, the liquid after soaking is best used to create a fragrant and rich broth;
professional chefs advise using the most effective method for soaking mushrooms - using milk instead of water. Thanks to its special consistency, fruiting bodies are better cleaned of dirt and harmful microorganisms. Soup prepared with this component will be as tasty and rich as possible;
salads with the presence of woody organisms can be eaten hot or cooled, and after infusing in the refrigerator, the dish will acquire a particularly refined taste and aroma;
it is possible to store the wood component fresh in the refrigerator for no longer than 72 hours, but the dried product can be stored indefinitely;
the presented mushrooms in China and Korea are most often consumed with rice, vegetables, funchose, however, the special properties of this ingredient allow you to create the most unexpected flavor compositions according to personal gastronomic preferences.

It is recommended to use only young tree mushrooms, so preparing an edible dish from an old fruiting body is impossible and simply dangerous - such food can cause gastrointestinal upset, and in some cases, hallucinations.

Precautions for use

Chinese black wood fungus purchased from commercial suppliers has few, if any, side effects.

However, since most black fungus is sold dry, it is important to always soak it before using due to its density and fragility.

Additionally, it should always be cooked thoroughly to kill bacteria and remove any residue. Research shows that cooking may even increase its antioxidant activity (, ).

However, self-harvesting of black fungus is generally not recommended due to the risk of misidentification or contamination. Wild mushrooms absorb contaminants from the environment, and incorrect identification can lead to poisoning or even death.

Instead, you should look for this unique mushroom at your local specialty store or online.

Summary:
While Chinese black wood fungus is not associated with side effects, you should always soak it before eating and cook it thoroughly to eliminate potentially harmful bacteria. It is better to buy the dried product rather than collect it yourself.