Muer mushrooms are often called “tree ears.” This is the closest relative of the common tinder fungus, resembling it in its beneficial properties. These small black mushrooms resemble in appearance... the ashes obtained when paper is burned. Some people think they taste like they were roasted over a fire. Others find them a bit sweet. Muer mushrooms were first used in Japanese haute cuisine. They were served at the receptions of the Emperor of Japan...as a dessert. An assortment of muer and tiger lilies was also a popular dish. Later, mushrooms entered the diet of residents of Vietnam and China. Today they can be bought in almost any store that sells goods for ethnic cooking.
Meaning and Application
Most often, tree mushrooms are used in cooking, medicine, and cosmetology.
A large number of xylotrophs, especially in China, are used in cooking and added to dishes. For example, coral is often added to sauces, which gives them a piquant taste.
Some species are used to create cosmetics, for example, lentian is obtained from shiitake. Lentian is a component that is used in almost all Japanese cosmetics.
If shiitake was grown on special wood, then this gives it medicinal properties, since shiitake contains a polysaccharide. Ointments, tinctures and dry healing powders are made from xylotrophs.
To summarize, it is worth saying that tree fungi can cause not only harm to wood and destroy young trees. These xylotrophs have many more beneficial properties, because they help not only make a dish tastier, but also make it healthier.
Delicious and quick recipe
How to cook Chinese varieties? Nowadays, shiitake is a very famous product, widely used in cooking. Has an interesting appearance. There are a huge number of developing and changing delicious and healthy recipes. Let's look at the simplest one.
Similar mushrooms
Some species are difficult to distinguish from each other due to their external similarity. Sometimes mushrooms on trees look like ordinary chanterelles, champignons, and toadstools. There are species that parasitize other plants, such as ergot. The fungus attacks the ears of cereal crops.
The danger comes from the similarity of edible specimens with poisonous ones:
Before using collected specimens, it is recommended to ensure that they are edible. Knowledge of external features will allow you to collect healthy, safe and tasty mushrooms.
Harmful properties
Muer will not harm a person, since it is non-poisonous and has no poisonous counterpart in the vast kingdom. But wild mushrooms tend to absorb huge amounts of harmful substances, which lead to poisoning and stomach upsets.
It has a number of unique features. Muer contains chitin in large quantities, so children under 13 years of age should not eat this product. The reason is that the child’s body has not yet acquired enzymes capable of absorbing such volumes of chitin. A person may also have an individual intolerance to muer.
Distribution area
Shiitake is a saprotrophic plant that grows only on dead or fallen trees. Wood is a source of nutrients necessary for maturation and reproduction. Has an interesting appearance.
Southeast Asia (China, Japan, Korea and other countries), Russia, Primorsky Krai and the Far East are the main distribution areas of this species. He prefers stumps, fallen trunks, Mongolian oak and Amur linden, chestnut, birch, maple, poplar, liquidambar, hornbeam, ironwood, mulberry and many others. The appearance occurs in autumn, and the fruiting period occurs throughout the summer and ends at the end of autumn.
Shiitake grows at an extremely fast pace. First, tiny caps appear, which fully ripen after 7-9 days. Thus, the specimen has a number of unique features. It is an educational object of study for specialists.
Contraindications
Tree Ear is not the easiest food for the stomach. People with acute and chronic gastrointestinal diseases, those suffering from diseases of the thyroid gland, liver and gallbladder, as well as chronic skin diseases need to be careful with them.
It is better not to give muer to small children; pregnant and lactating women should also refrain from consuming them.
If you want to use Muer Mushrooms as a medicine for any chronic disease, be sure to consult your doctor first.
Muer mushrooms are a sophisticated delicacy of Asian cuisine, increasingly accessible to those who want to try its flavor notes. Lovers of quiet hunting from the southern and eastern regions of our country can get acquainted with this mushroom in its natural habitat, and everyone else can find it on the shelves of retail chains.
May Promote Brain Health
Mushrooms are believed to preserve healthy brain function (,).
One test-tube study found that Chinese black wood fungus and other mushrooms inhibit the activity of beta-secretase, an enzyme that releases beta-amyloid proteins ().
These proteins are toxic to the brain and are associated with degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease ().
Although these results are promising, human studies are needed.
Nutritional characteristics and chemical composition
Muer mushrooms are a very nutritious food. They contain an impressive amount of proteins, amino acids, healthy carbohydrates, but contain almost no fat. Hence the low calorie content: a little more than 30 kcal per 100 g. This delicacy contains B vitamins, among which the most vitamin B5, vitamin C and many minerals important for maintaining health. Interestingly, the reserves of iron, phosphorus and calcium in abalone are almost 2 times higher than the concentration of these substances in meat. Due to their rich phosphorus content, tree mushrooms are considered a fish substitute in a vegan diet.
Features of wood mushrooms
It is difficult to say definitively what a tree mushroom is, because it all depends on the variety. Some foresters call them forest nurses, while others, on the contrary, call them parasites.
We can only say for sure that they are called woody for a reason. They appear on the bark of trees, on stumps, trunks and branches. The spores of such xylotrophs penetrate deep into the wood and feed on the beneficial substances of the tree, ensuring good growth. Some grow only on dying trees, while others prefer only young and vibrant shoots.
They do not always have the shape we are accustomed to: some of them grow on a stalk, others in the form of an incomprehensible growth, which at first glance and in every way does not resemble a mushroom. Most often they grow in large families. Tree mushrooms are also divided into edible and inedible. Edibles are very popular because they are very healthy. Inedible, most often useless, found in nature much more often.
Description
| Hats | Convex hemispherical shape. The cap can reach from 6 to 20 cm in diameter. It has a dry, velvety skin, which is covered with a few white scales. The hat may have coffee or brownish-brown hues. As the caps mature, they become edible and slightly flattened. The skin layer of a mature mushroom tends to crack as it ripens. The juvenile has a smooth edge, while the edges of the adult can be described as thin, tucked and wavy. Shiitake weighs up to 0.1 kg. Has an interesting appearance. It is an educational object of study for specialists. |
| Records | Characterized by an abundance of thin, dense, white plates. The thin protective membrane tears the plates of the young individual. If you press on the plate or damage it, it will change its color to dark brown. |
| Legs | The legs are straight, fibrous, slightly tapering at the base of the specimen. The height of the leg can reach from 4 to 20 cm, and in diameter it is unlikely to exceed 1.5 cm. The surfaces of the legs are light brown or beige and have a visible fringe, which is formed from the remains of protective blankets. |
| Pulp | The pulp of Chinese specimens can be described as dense and fleshy. It has a white or cream color and a spicy mushroom taste. The aroma is bright and pleasant. If an abundance of brown spots appears on the lower parts of a representative, this indicates the aging process of the individual, which means that it loses its beneficial properties. Has an interesting appearance. |
| Controversy | They are distinguished by their ellipsoidal shape and whitish tint. The lamellar representatives of the huge kingdom contain spores on the undersides of their caps. |
Summing up
Chinese tree mushrooms, recipes for which you can find with photos on the Internet, will be an excellent addition to any kitchen. Combine them with meat products, poultry dishes, vegetables, put them in soups, and you will get an original, truly tasty, nutritious and healing diet, which, according to alternative medicine specialists, will act as a general tonic, lower cholesterol levels, and alleviate heart disease , vessels and much more.
The muer mushroom, or auricularia auriculata, is an unusual edible representative of the mushroom kingdom. Translated from Chinese it means black tree ear, in Japanese it means tree jellyfish. Very good for health. Widely used in oriental cooking.
Muer tree mushroom - a delicacy of Asian cuisine
Cold muer mushroom appetizer (with video)
Cold muer mushroom appetizer (with video)
Cold muer mushroom appetizer (Liangban Heimuer). Such snacks are on the menu of any catering establishment in China, from cheap eateries to chic and posh restaurants. In Chinese restaurants in Russia, such snacks are also in great demand. What is the secret of such popularity?
In China, such snacks are served as appetizers, i.e. with the first serving of ordered dishes. The dressing contains traditional Chinese seasonings - light soy sauce, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. Garlic, ginger and cilantro are often added to such dressings. This combination of seasonings gives a very pleasant taste to dishes, salty-sweet, with a hint of sesame. And garlic, ginger and cilantro perfectly complement the flavor range. Snacks like these are appetizing. And the presence of vinegar in the dressing promotes digestion, which is especially advisable at rich Chinese feasts.
In Russia, such snacks are popular when ordering in a Chinese restaurant, again because they are served in the first place. They are associated with Chinese cuisine in general. It is these snacks that make up the first impression of Chinese cuisine among visitors who visit a Chinese restaurant for the first time. Pleasant, moderately salty taste, without strong aromas and tastes. Not spicy, not sour.
Such dishes are an excellent option for a home menu. This is a very simple and inexpensive cold appetizer. No cooking skills required. Prepares quickly. The only thing, a couple of nuances, is the time it takes to soak the dried muer mushrooms, and it is advisable to let the salad steep for at least 30 minutes so that the taste becomes brighter and richer.
We'll tell you how to prepare a Chinese cold appetizer from muer mushrooms
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See also the video version of the recipe below!
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
- dried muer mushrooms - 3-5 pcs.,
- light soy sauce - 2 tbsp.,
- black rice vinegar - 1.5 tbsp.,
- sesame oil – 1 tsp,
- white sugar – 1 tsp,
- ginger – 2 cups,
- garlic – 2 cloves,
- cilantro – 2 sprigs,
- red chili pepper - a few rings (or as desired).
So, first you need to soak the muer mushrooms. You can do it quickly, or you can do it without rushing.
The “take your time” option is to soak the mushrooms in warm water in the evening and leave to soak overnight. During this time, the mushrooms will soak and restore their elasticity. You can cook them.
A quick option is to soak the mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes, then boil the water and blanch them for 5 minutes at a low simmer. Then place on a sieve and rinse with cold water.
While the mushrooms are cooling, you can prepare the remaining ingredients.
First prepare the dressing sauce. In a bowl of suitable size, mix light soy sauce, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and white sugar. Stir the dressing until the sugar dissolves.
Peel the garlic, cut off the skin of the ginger, rinse the chili and cilantro.
Finely chop the garlic and ginger (do not grate, but chop).
Chop the green cilantro into small pieces along with the stems. Cut several thin rings from the chili pod (if you have a spicy intolerance, do not use chili).
Gently squeeze the moisture out of the mushrooms and remove the dense bases of the mushrooms.
Cut the mushrooms into strips. Here, as aesthetics dictates, you can use thin noodles, or you can use wide noodles, like ours.
Place mushroom strips in a salad bowl, sprinkle with chopped garlic and ginger, chili rings and chopped cilantro. You can leave a pinch of cilantro and a few chili rings to decorate the salad in the plate.
Fill the contents of the salad bowl with dressing and mix everything. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes so that the mushrooms are soaked in the dressing. This will give them a brighter and richer taste.
Mix the finished salad again and place on a serving plate. Pour the sauce remaining in the salad bowl and garnish with the reserved cilantro and chili rings. Cold muer mushroom appetizer is ready. You can help yourself.
Best wishes, Your Corshop.
Video on how to prepare Chinese cold appetizer with muer mushrooms:
