Cook and Drink

When shopping in an Asian Supermarket you will probably notice bags with ‘dried Black Fungus’. Not the most appealing name. Two popular edible mushrooms belong to the Auricularia family, Wood Ear and Black Wood Ear. Both are known as Black Fungus. The mushrooms grow on decaying wood and old logs. Wood Ear is common in Europe and Black Wood Ear in Asia. Alternative names are Cloud Ear, Jelly Ear and Judas’s ear.
The mushrooms have a chewy, gelatinous consistency and are often used in dishes such as hot and sour soup, stir fries, casseroles and even salads. Their flavour is rather bland which makes them ideal to absorb flavours.

A few days ago, it was our lucky day, fresh Wood Ears! First time for us and we had to buy them. We used 75 grams in a variation on Mapo Tofu and 25 grams for the soup. Both dishes were delicious and special, thanks to the structure of the Wood Ear.

What You Need

• Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 1 teaspoon of Chili bean paste (Toban Djan) or Sambal
• 1 tablespoon of Rice Vinegar
• 25 grams of fresh Wood Ears or 5 grams of dried Wood Ears
• Bamboo Shoots
• Firm Tofu
• 1 cm of Fresh Ginger
• Sesame Oil
• Soy Sauce
• 1 Egg
• Scallion
• (optional) Corn Starch

What You Do

1. If using dried mushrooms, soak these for 60 minutes in water and drain
2. Remove any dirt
3. Cut off the woody stems if necessary
4. Slice the mushrooms
5. Slice the bamboo shoots
6. Drain and dice the tofu
7. Grate the ginger
8. Whisk the egg, you will probably need half of it 
9. Heat the stock
10. Add chili bean paste
11. Add vinegar
12. Mix well
13. Taste and adjust
14. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu and ginger
15. Leave to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes
16. Add soy sauce and sesame oil to taste
17. If you want to thicken the soup, do so now. We decided not to, relying on the egg to create a nice mouthfeel
18. Slowly drizzle in the egg while stirring the soup in a circular motion
19. Serve with sliced white scallion