Wood Ear Mushrooms

An adorable, tangled nest of mushroom. Long ribbons of Wood Ear that are darling to look at and more so to eat. Add to pasta dishes as crunchy noodles of earthy goodness. Toss in stir-fries to tie up loose chiles or sop up fermented black bean sauce.

These shredded Wood Ear mushrooms look like destroyed confidential files from a government office rather than food. Perhaps under all that black you might find some undisclosed secret kept hidden from the public.

But no, these are mushrooms. Hydrated, these delicate strings of finely sliced Wood Ear mushroom become brown and crunchy with a forest-y flavor.

Many chefs have begun to treat shredded Wood Ear like a pasta as instead of a mushroom. Add them to cold soba dishes, or tangle together with fettuccini and slather in an alfredo sauce for an East-meets-West dish. We like to add them into a chicken soup for their antiviral properties. Curious in texture, intriguing in flavor, and with a contemporary appearance this mushroom is perfect for the hip home cook.