• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

China Sichuan Food

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Index
  • Sichuan
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Index
    • Sichuan
    • Subscribe
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Pantry

    Wood Ear Mushroom Salad

    Last Modified: May 25, 2022 by Elaine| 21 Comments

    888 shares
    • Share on Facebook
    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Wood ear mushroom salad is a very easy and popular Chinese side cold dish. It possibly enjoys the highest ordering rate in Chinese restaurants. Do you like the dark food—wood ear mushrooms?

    wood ear mushroom|chinasichuanfood.com

    What's Wood Ear Mushrooms

    Wood ear mushroom (木[mù]耳[ěr]), also known as black fungus is a type of edible fungus frequently used in Chinese cuisines. It is grown on wood and looks like a ear. So Chinese people give it a lovely name, wood ear mushroom. You may find it used in meat stir-fries like moo shu pork and veggie stir-fries. But the loveliest way of enjoying the wood ear mushroom in my cabinet is to make a wood ear mushrooms that only requires several minutes preparation.

    There are several types of wood ear mushroom. Common black wood ear mushroom, gray wood ear mushroom and this small black wood ear mushrooms are all member of the family. Smaller ones are called as "云耳", usually are more crunchy and thicker. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wood-ear-mushrooms-5.jpg

    In summer, we loves to a salad with wood ear mushrooms. They can be extremely crunchy and delicious with simple hot garlic sauce.  It shares common features with louts root. When lightly cooked, they are crunchy and best for salad. If cooked for a longer time, they absorb the flavors and seasonings and turned to be extremely delicious and soft.

    If wood ear mushroom is stir-fried over high fire, you should be very careful as they splash a lot and there will be pa-pa-pa sound. When I was still a child, I love the sound so much.

    Cook's Note

    It is very important to remove any sandy parts of the wood ear mushroom (usually the bottom). Sand will make the dish a complete failure.

    ¼ cup dried wood ear mushrooms seem to be a small amount, but you will end up with around 150g after soaking as the wood ear mushrooms will absorb lots of water during soaking.  That amount should be perfect for a side dish salad.

    Steps

    Cut the bottom of the wood ear mushroom and wash carefully. Make sure no sand contained.

    Cook soaked wood ear mushroom in boiling water for 1 minute. Transfer out and soak in cold water to cool down. It is extremely to soak the wood ear mushroom in cold water to get the crunchy texture.  Then completely drain before mixing.

    wood ear mushroom|chinasichuanfood.com
    wood ear mushroom salad

    In a small pot, heat oil, add spring onion whites, chili pepper circles and garlic. Fry over slow fire until aromatic. Then turn off the fire, add light soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside until cooled.

    wood ear mushroom salad

    Here you are! Just mix everything and get your table a wonderful wood ear salad.

    wood ear mushroom salad

    Other cold salad dish for summer

    1. shredded potato salad
    2. Chinese kelp (dried seaweed) salad
    3. Smashed cucumber salad
    4. Okra salad with black vinegar dressing
    5. Lotus root salad
    wood ear mushroom|chinasichuanfood.com

    Wood Ear Mushroom Salad

    Elaine
    Easy and comforting Chinese side dish made with Chinese wood ear mushrooms.
    5 from 10 votes
    Watch Video Print Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 5 mins
    Total Time 10 mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine Chinese
    Servings 2
    Calories 63 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • ¼ cup dried wood ear mushrooms
    • a small bunch of coriander
    • ¼ middle size onion

    Seasonings

    • 2 garlic clove , chopped
    • 1 fresh Thai chili pepper , cut into small pieces
    • 2 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
    • 3 spring onion white , cut into small sections
    • 1 tbsp. Chinese black vinegar
    • 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
    • ½ tbsp. sesame oil
    • pinch of salt if necessary
    • ½ tsp. sugar
    • 1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds , optional

    Instructions

    • Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes until they absorb the water and become soft. Rinse in cold water. Tear larger pieces into bite size and remove the sandy ends. Wash carefully and make sure no sand is contained.
    • Cook soaked mushrooms in boiling water for around 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off fire and place the onion slices in. Transfer out immediately and soak in cold water to cool down.
    • Completely drain the wood ear mushrooms and then place in serving plate.
    • Heat oil in a pot and fry garlic, spring onion and fresh thai peppers until aromatic over slowest fire. Turn off fire and add all the other seasonings. Mix well and serve.

    Video

    Notes

    There are lots of other versions in China, for example you can add sliced cucumber and goji berries.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 63kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSodium: 1086mgPotassium: 39mgVitamin A: 200IUVitamin C: 8.8mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 0.4mg
    Keyword Wood Ear
    Tried this recipe?Mention @ChinaSichuanFood
    wood ear mushrooms|chinasichuanfood.com

    More recipes you may enjoy

    • Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings
    • Curry Beef Dumplings
    • Chinese Potato Salad
    • Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jenny

      June 23, 2021 at 1:28 pm

      Hi Elaine, I'm really keen to try this recipe after eating it at a restaurant recently. Is it ok to use fresh wood ear mushroom and just skip the first step?

      Reply
      • Elaine

        June 23, 2021 at 8:36 pm

        Sure. Jenny!

        Reply
    2. Monica from Bestconsumerreports

      September 12, 2021 at 9:55 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent recipe! You did an incredible job with this! My entire family loved wood air mushrooms, you've stimulated my appetite, I’ll try your recipe, looks seem easy to make. Five stars for you and thanks so much for this guide!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        September 13, 2021 at 7:46 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi Welcome

    Hi welcome to my little corner where I sharing authentic and easy to follow Chinese recipes. Don't be limited by the site name. Know me more from About Page.

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Popular

    • Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)
    • Mapo Tofu Recipe
    • How to Make Boba Pearls at Home -Tapioca Pearls
    • Twice Cooked Pork--Szechuan Pork Stir Fry
    • Red Braised Pork Belly —(HongShaoRou)
    • Pork and Mushroom Stir Fry

    Find Recipes

    Email List

    Subscribe Our Email list to get updates and recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Privacy Policy. Disclaimer. About. Hot Pot cookbook

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 ChinaSichuanFood.com | All Rights Reserved