Chinese wood ear mushroom salad – Plus Ate Six

By now you will know I have an aversion to all things mushroom.

I can’t explain why – it’s just the way I’m made.

But for some reason every mushroom lover out there seems to find this quite boring fact incredulous and unbelievable in equal parts.

You don’t like mushrooms? How can that possibly be? 

Errrrhmmmm…..I just don’t like them. Never have and never will.

But what don’t you like about them? I can’t believe you’re so into your food and YOU DON’T LIKE MUSHROOMS.

Sorry about that, but I’m not making this up to annoy the pants off you. I just don’t like mushrooms.

I just don’t get it. When was the last time you tried them? Maybe you’ll like them now? How you write a food blog and not like mushrooms?

Really? You’re going to go there? Alrighty.

Why I have to justify my intense dislike for mushrooms is beyond me. It’s a bit like skiing. I can’t stand that either. And yes I’ve tried it. I gave up when a blind man overtook me on the learner slopes. True story.

Strangely enough, there is one mushroom I do like – Chinese wood ear mushroom. But only because they don’t taste anything like mushrooms as we know them in the west.

Also known as black fungus or cloud ear mushrooms, they grow in rows of ‘ears’ on damp wood and according to Traditional Chinese Medicine they help lower ‘bad’ cholesterol and clear blocked arteries. Versions of this salad can be found on nearly every menu in town and it’s often the first thing we will order as a snack whilst we decide what to eat.

In the last In My Kitchen post I had found some fresh ones in City Super and there were lots of comments about what to do with them.

You’ll find them in the dried food aisle of any Chinese supermarket and they are a real doodle to prepare. Just remember 10g doesn’t look a lot in the bowl, but once you soak them they will rehydrate and end up weighing around 100g – more than enough for side dish as part of a Chinese meal.

And for my fellow mushroom haters the texture is slightly crunchy  – if you’ve tried jelly fish as part of a yum cha {dim sum} meal it’s very similar.

A few Chinese aromatics, a tablespoon each of soy and black vinegar and a drizzle of sesame oil are all that’s required for this salad.

If my dislike of mushrooms has ruffled your feathers, I’m about to mess with your head big time because here’s three more things I don’t like:

1) Eggs whites and yolks separately – scrambled eggs and omelettes are fine, boiled, poached or fried not so much.

2) Coffee – don’t like the smell or the bitter taste and have never seen the point in adding sugar to make it taste better. Offer me a tumbler of Kahula and ice and I’ll take your arm off. Just don’t give me a piece of coffee cake. Tiramasu is OK though.

3) Milk – don’t mind it in cakes, scrambled eggs and hot chocolate but never been a fan of drinking it neat and most times I substitute it with water in recipes because there’s never in the fridge.

 

I feel so much better now I’ve got that off my chest! Mushrooms – love ’em or loathe ’em?

P.S. Did you know you can check out Plus Ate Six on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest

Related