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Auricularia auricula-judae
I'm fairly sure this is Wood-ear aka Judas' ear (Auricularia auricula-judae). suggestions welcome! I don't know the tree species yet Wood-ear's an edible species... I cut it into strips and made a soup... It was horrible. The bits are really slimy and yet kind of hard to chew not unlike gristle. A mushroom expert suggested putting them on a baguette and toasting them (I think he mentioned garlic butter as well). They lower your blood pressure and so you're not supposed to eat loads of them. I remember reading an article saying it's bad to eat this mushroom alongside MSG because you get 'Chinese-restaurant-syndrome' and pass out or something. I think both are popular ingredients in Chinese cooking.
Spotted on Jun 23, 2012
Submitted on Jun 26, 2012
3 Comments
hey Asterope; thanks for the tip. I recently had some in a stir fry and I agree they go well! I also included shiitakes, velvet shank and fairy ring champignons. The fairy ring ones were dried and stored for a couple of years before cooking. I guess this was what caused me to get food poisoning D:
Yeah someone on the shroomery said that 'Chinese-restaurant-syndrome' is a myth too! I guess next time I make a stir fry it might not be too difficult to put some in. They seem to store really well; when you dry them out and then rehydrate them they are exactly the same as when you first picked them :D
I love these mushrooms - tasty and weird!
I think that article you read was bogus... they are great in stir fries! the texture goes great with all the crunchy veges :)