Try these easy and authentic Wood Ear Mushroom Recipes at your next Chinese meal! From hearty soups to refreshing salads and wholesome stir-fries, we've got you covered.
What are wood ear mushrooms?
Wood ear mushrooms are a mushroom species native to Asia. They have a dark-to-light brown color and resemble a small crinkled ear.
They're prevalent in Chinese cuisine, where they're used in soups, salads, and stir-fries.
How to prepare?
Wood ear mushrooms are typically sold dried and must be rehydrated before being used in cooking.
They should be rinsed and soaked in warm water for about 30 minutes until they become soft, pliable, and expand.
What do they taste like?
Wood ear mushrooms don't have too much flavor to them. They absorb the flavors and nuances of the dishes in which they are used.
They're typically used for their texture. When properly prepared, they have a mildly crisp exterior and a chewy interior.
Wood ear mushroom salad is a common cold appetizer in Chinese dinners. It has a spicy, sour, and salty taste due to chile peppers, Chinese black vinegar, and soy sauce.
When making this salad, make sure to gently brush off any debris from the bottom of the mushrooms; otherwise, it can make the texture gritty.
Although the recipe asks for just ¼ cup of mushrooms, they expand quite a bit after soaking!
Hot and Sour Soup is one of my favorite wood ear mushroom recipes! I love this soup because it's warm, comforting, and filled with hearty ingredients like chicken and shiitake mushrooms.
It's a tasty and simple dish, taking just 40 minutes to make. Each serving has 216 calories, making it a satisfying, low-calorie option.
The flavor profile is savory, salty, sour, and spicy, and you can adjust it to suit your preferences!
Lotus root, carrot, snow peas, and wood ear mushrooms are stir-fried in a light, savory sauce with lots of garlic and ginger.
It's a quick and easy meal, perfect for a busy weeknight.
Lotus root is a favorite of mine for stir-fries because it's super crunchy and pairs well with the slippery texture of wood ear mushrooms.
This stir-fried celtuce might look simple, but it's surprisingly delicious! Unlike most stir-fries, which use soy sauce and oyster sauce, this relies mainly on garlic, ginger, and Chinese cooking wine.
It's a straightforward stir-fry that takes 45 minutes, with most of the time spent waiting for the mushrooms to rehydrate.
Here are some helpful tips: Prevent browning, especially with the garlic, to preserve the celtuce's clear taste. Cook celtuce until it's just right, not soggy.
This ginger and black fungus chicken is a straightforward dish anyone can make in their kitchen!
Although the recipe calls for black fungus, wood ear mushrooms can be used instead. Many online recipe sites don't even distinguish between the two.
This recipe comes together in 20 minutes! You'll need ginger, red onion, fermented soybeans, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and green onions.
This king oyster mushroom recipe is a flavorful vegetarian dish with meaty mushrooms and one of the tastiest stir-fry sauces. It only takes 8 minutes from start to finish.
King oyster mushrooms have a thicker, meatier stem than regular oyster mushrooms. The stem's texture resembles abalone, firm and springy.
For this recipe, you'll need king oyster mushrooms, minced garlic, fresh chilis, green onions, Shaoxing rice wine, black vinegar, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce.
This will be one of the most unique wood ear mushroom recipes you'll cook! It uses an uncommon ingredient called dried lily flowers.
Dried lily flowers are sold in clear plastic packaging and look like dark brown twisted sticks. They have a mild flavor with a crunchy texture, making them great for stir-fries and soups.
This steamed dish is nutritious and delicious. It's a satisfying meal with low calories, so you can eat much of it without guilt!
This recipe is inspired by Northern Chinese Woo Shu pork and makes a quick and delicious stir-fry at home. It takes about 10 minutes to stir-fry after preparing the ingredients.
You'll need pork shoulder/butt, chili peppers, garlic, cooking oil, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, white pepper, chicken stock, oyster sauce, and a little cornstarch for thickening.
I love a hearty stew in the cold winter months, and here's a classic Cantonese chicken stew recipe.
This recipe mentions black fungus, but you can use wood ear mushrooms as a substitute.
It's easy to prepare: gather all the ingredients, place them in a clay pot, cover them, and let them simmer for 10 minutes.
This is a delicious mushroom and cucumber salad inspired by Tushen Shiguan, an organic restaurant in Kunming, China. It works well as a side dish or a main course.
The ingredients are simple, and no cooking is needed. You'll need cucumbers, garlic, fresh Thai chilis, Shanxi vinegar (or Chinese black vinegar), and soy sauce.
You can serve it at room temperature or chill it in the refrigerator for serving later.
This seafood stir-fry combines fresh mussels, lap cheong (Chinese sausage), and dried wood ear mushrooms.
You'll need mussels, Chinese sauce, chili bean paste, Shaoxing wine, Chinkiang vinegar, cilantro, ginger, shallots, garlic, and toasted sesame oil. You can find Chinese sausage in the refrigerated or dried meat section of your local Asian grocery store.
Serve this recipe with freshly steamed rice to soak up the delicious juices.
12. Buddha’s Delight
Buddha's Delight is a traditional Chinese Buddhist dish, often prepared on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year to mark the vegetarian tradition at the year's start.
This recipe uses many dried Chinese ingredients (dried shiitake mushrooms, mung bean thread noodles, black moss, bean curd sticks, and fermented bean curd), many of which are available at your local Chinese or Asian market grocery store.
Despite its many ingredients, it comes together quickly, taking around 30 minutes. You can enjoy it with rice or as a hearty vegetarian main course on its own.
This Vegan Stir Fry is a straightforward Chinese recipe with tofu, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. It's a great choice when you have vegan guests!
The sauce is simple but tasty, with savory, salty, and sour flavors.
You can customize it by adding or removing ingredients without affecting the dish. The author uses bamboo shoots and yu choy, but you can switch these for other crunchy vegetables.
Did you enjoy these wood ear mushroom recipes? Be sure to check out the other delicious recipes on this blog by checking out our Recipe Index.
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