Conference turris::cooks

    My Chinese co-worker does not recognize this particular mushroom
    from your description, and neither do it, offhand.  I have seen
    oriental recipes that call for soaking dried mushrooms for half
    an hour in boiling water, and then boiling the mushrooms for another
    half an hour before cutting them up to use in other recipes, but
    I have never run into a mushroom where I had to do all that (if
    it's soft after soaking, I just use it) - maybe you have found the
    one!  You might as well try it, anyways.  Does the bag the mushroom
    came in say anything (in English) on it that might help tell what
    it is?  We also can't think of any mushrooms that are only used
    for flavoring.  Good luck!
    
    Charlotte

    re: note 238.0
    
    From your description, I thought you were describing Japanese mushrooms
    (shitake), but they should be usable for cooking after soaking.
     After soaking, shitake should feel sort of like rubber and can
    be cut to be used in cooking.  Many times the stems are too tough
    to be used (even after soaking), so I don't use them.  I guess it's
    best to try the suggestion in note 238.1.
    
    By the way, what do you mean by normal black mushrooms?  Are these
    not dried?

    Re -1
    
    The "normal black mushrooms" I'm referring to are the ones that
    are roughly the same shape as the white ones that one can buy fresh
    in most grocery stores, but they're black/brown and flatter.
    
    I will try soaking one and cooking it.  I had soaked it for a long
    time (poured boiling water on it and set it on a low flame for a
    while, even), but I'll try cooking it over higher heat.
    
    Unfortunately the package just says something like "dried mushroom"
    on it.
    
    Thanks,
    	Louise
    
  

    Sounds like shitakes are what you are thinking of as "normal black
    mushrooms".  I'll see if I can turn up any more mushroom information
    in my oriental cookbooks tonight.  I don't use the stems of dried
    shitakes either.  By the way, you can fairly often get fresh shitakes
    around here (eastern Mass.); there are a few American growers now,
    so you don't necessarily have to eat only dried black mushrooms.
    
    /Charlotte

I got mushrooms like the ones described at Joice Chen in Acton, and had 
similar results.  After a long time, I settled on the procedure of 
soaking them in boiling water for an hour or two, and then cutting off
the stems and using the caps in things that were going to be boiled for
a longish time.   I have no idea what they are, but they have an 
interesting taste.  Good in soups.
					>>>==>PStJTT

    Hmm...The Joyce Chen cookbook WAS, in fact, one of the ones that
    said to soak the black mushrooms in boiling water and then to boil
    them.  I don't use that cookbook much.  They must be referring to
    the kind of black mushrooms their stores sell, rather than the "usual"
    ones, which is what I have always used in their recipes.  I hope
    they taste good!

    The dried mushrooms you describe are also called "wood ears".  I
    use these mushrooms when I make moo shi.  They only need to be soaked
    for about 20 minutes.  They never become less than very rubbery.
     They are then "cored" of the hard center and sliced thin (julienne).
    They do add a distinctive flavor to this dish.
    
      ^_^
     (>.<)
      ) ( Jeanne Travers
    

    I thought that "wood ears" was the common name of a type
    of black/brown fungus which is used in oriental cooking.
    I've used this fungus in hot and sour soup and other dishes,
    and you're right, they stay pretty rubbery.  However this
    other mushroom was not only rubbery to the touch, it was
    totally inedible!  My teeth wouldn't go through it, and
    it never made it into the dish I was preparing.  The
    soaking liquid *did* smell pretty mushroomy, though,
    so I think it would have added a nice flavor to the
    dish.  As soon as I find the proper type of box, I think
    I will mail a sample to the person who has offered to
    id one.  I'll let you all know if the mystery is solved.
    
    --Louise

    I thought that "wood ears" were the type of fungi that grew on the
    side of dead trees (wouldn't stop me from eating them).
    
    Is this the (a) definition of "wood ears"?
    
    Mark
    

RE: .-1

Yup, that's what wood ears (aka shelf fungus, tree ear mushrooms) are.  There's
a particular kind of shelf fungus that grows in the Orient and is widely used
in Chinese cooking.  It's blackish in color and sold dried.

I wouldn't recommend trying the local, wild varieties unless you really know
what you're doing.  It's very likely that the local ones are poisonous.

--PSW

    
       I have seen wood ears growing wild in the woods here
    (Massachusetts), and they looked *EXACTLY* like the ones I have 
    cooked up for hot and sour soup.  What a shock it was to see these
    critters hangin' out on a branch in the woods instead of my stewpot!
       However, I am with you Paul, I wouldn't eat one on a dare.  
    Why take any sort of risk when a large bag of dried wood ears costs 
    a buck at Joyce Chen's?
                                               Chris
    
    

    If you do feel like picking your own fresh funguses. then the
    Audebon(sp)guide to mushrooms is a must. It has color pictures of
    all the north american mushrooms plus excellent descriptions of
    the fungus in question including but not limited to what the spore
    sacks should look like.
    
    					Geoff

    It must be a very sturdy mushroom you have got!!!!
    
    Did you ever try slice it thin and cook it that way? 
    I believe Oriental cooking mostly slice mushroom really 
    thin and the flavor will spread into other ingredients.

    Does anyone know a mycologist?  I'd like to identify a delicious
    mushroon that serendipitously sprouted just outside my kitchen door. 
    
    I'm in southern NH and would love to find a local expert.
    
    Thanks for any help!