China · Home-style
Cold Wood Ear Mushroom Salad
Soaked wood ear mushrooms tossed with garlic, bird's eye chili and a sharp vinegar dressing. Crisp, slippery and refreshing, ready once the soaking is done.
Wood ear is sold everywhere in China in dried brick form, because it keeps for months and swells into a whole dish after half an hour in water. It is the standard cold dish for a table with nothing much else, since it carries flavour from the dressing rather than from itself. The one job worth doing properly is snapping off the tough root end, which stays unpleasant no matter how long you soak.
Ingredients
- dried wood ear mushrooms20 g
- garlic cloves3 pieces
- bird's eye chili2 pieces
- salt2 g
- sugarExact
- light soy sauce15 ml
- vinegar15 ml
- sesame oil5 ml
Directions
- 1
Soak the dried wood ear mushrooms in about 400 ml water for about 45 minutes. Skip this step if you are using fresh ones.
- 2
Trim the roots off the soaked mushrooms and wash them thoroughly.
- 3
Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the mushrooms and boil over high heat for 1.5 to 2 minutes.
- 4
Chop the garlic and bird's eye chili into a medium to large bowl, then add the salt, sugar, light soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and mustard in turn, using the amounts listed.
- 5
Drain the mushrooms and put them into the bowl from the previous step.
- 6
Toss thoroughly and serve.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.