Wood Ear Mushroom Salad (Chinese Recipe)

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 25 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 oz dry wood ear mushroom ( or black fungus (30g)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tbsp neutral oil

1/2 tsp chili flakes or powder

1/4 tsp ground sichuan pepper (, optional (I simply ground whole peppercorns)

1/2 tsp sugar (, adjust to taste)

2 tbsp soy sauce (, adjust to taste)

2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (, adjust to taste)

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 to 1/2 small white onion (, thinly sliced (depends on how much onion you like)

1/2 small red bell pepper (, thinly sliced)

2 red chiles (, chopped (optional for additional heat)

Chopped cilantro

Chili oil (, for extra spice (if desired)

Directions

Wood Ear Mushrooms

Rehydrate the wood ear mushroom or black fungus in warm water for at least 1 hour. You can leave this overnight in room temperature water until these bloom from absorbed water.

Dressing/Marinade

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing/marinade. Place the minced garlic in a heat proof bowl.

Heat the oil in the pot (you can use the same pot to boil the mushrooms later on) until you start to see small bubbles. Pour it over the minced garlic. Add in the chili flakes/powder, sichuan pepper (if using), sugar, soy sauce, black vinegar, and sesame oil. Mix well. Feel free to adjust this to your taste.

Cooking Wood Ear Mushrooms

Heat a medium pot with water. Once it boils, cook the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes. If you have thinner wood eat mushrooms, you can remove these sooner.

Prepare your ice bath: I like to prepare a large bowl with 8-10 ice cubes and water.

Remove the wood ear mushroom from the pot of water. Drain any excess water. Place the mushrooms in an ice bath. Leave to sit for 10 minutes or even longer.

Remove any tough stems from the mushrooms. You can also run the mushrooms through water to remove any excess dirt. Break apart or cut any of the larger pieces.

Remove the mushrooms from the ice bath and pat until completely dry with a kitchen towel.

Making the Salad

Transfer to a large container or bowl.

Add the dressing along with the onion, bell pepper, chiles, and cilantro. Mix well. You can also add some chili oil for extra heat, if you'd like.

You can enjoy this immediately or allow it to refrigerate for longer. I personally prefer making this a day in advance for the mushroom to really soak up all the flavours.

You can enjoy this as a starter or a side dish and pair it with your favourite mains. I had mine with a really rich sesame noodles (recipe here) so these mushrooms and the acidity helped cut through the richness of the noodles. Enjoy!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 small plate/serving
• Calories: 108 kcal
• Total Fat: 7 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
• Trans Fat: 0.01 g
• Sodium: 507 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 10 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 3 g
• Protein: 2 g