Wood (Chinese) mushroom muer useful properties and cooking recipes. Chinese black tree fungus muer - harm or benefit

100 g of muer (another name for "turkey ear") contains the following nutrients:

• 10 g of proteins;
• 0 g fat;
• 2 g carbohydrates.

As you can see, this plant contains a low amount of nutrients, but why then has it become so widespread in Asian cuisine? The answer lies in the content of a huge amount of vitamins and minerals.

In China, there is a belief that muer prolongs life, and this is true. This forest dweller is especially popular because it does not contain any negative substances, whether it be any nitrates or poisons.

The plant contains enzymes that help break up blood clots in blood vessels, improve blood circulation, rich in amino acids, which has a good effect on the general condition of the body. The huge content of vitamins D, C and B12 contributes to the development of immunity against various diseases. The calcium contained in the composition helps to strengthen bones, phosphorus has a good effect on the condition of the eyes. In general, this mushroom is a storehouse of vitamins. However, despite all its usefulness, the product should not be used by children under 14 years of age due to the content of chitin.

place of growth

These mushrooms grow on trees in the regions of Foreign Asia in deciduous and mixed forests (in the photo they look like a rosebud). There are two types: black (hei) and white (also known as bai). Plants like humid, warm climates, but grow well in temperate climates, such as in China's Jiangxi province, where the cordyceps fungus is still popular.

The black species (like cordyceps mushroom) is known in Japan as kikutara. It prefers to grow on alder trees, but is also found on elm trunks. The mushroom, which has not yet been dried, has a light brown color, which, when dried, turns into black-gray. Dried products resemble burnt paper, however, despite the unappetizing appearance, they have a pronounced peculiar taste. The black species is more common in cooking than the white species due to its greater distribution and availability, and ease of cultivation.

White muer, which has names such as "pearl" and "Chinese", prefers to grow on beech and oak trees. This type of mushroom in its shape, size and photo resembles a small jellyfish.

When dried, a large amount of moisture comes out of the muer, and it takes on the size of a table tennis ball and a beige color, sometimes milky. White muer, unlike black, has not only found great application in medicine, but is also eaten, but very rarely. White muer is more difficult to grow, it takes more time and nutrients, but there are much more nutrients in it, and its price is higher.

Pickled Chinese Tree Mushroom Muer (video)

Muer application

Chinese muer mushrooms (like Cordyceps mushroom) have found great use in cooking and medicine. Collecting mushrooms when they grow in natural conditions is unprofitable, and in Asia there are special farms for growing, including muer. But even those mushrooms that remain in the forest are harvested, but already by private mushroom pickers.

Chinese muer mushrooms are exported to many countries, for example, to the USA, Canada, Australia, Russia, the competition is only cordyceps mushroom. In these countries, "turkey ear" is considered an expensive delicacy.

In cooking, mushrooms are soaked in water before use. They make a huge number of sauces for meat, fish and other dishes. In restaurants, muer noodle soup is common, which is in demand (the photos on the menu are very appetizing). Plants are served as an independent dish. These dishes are usually not spicy, so as not to interrupt the taste of the main product. These mushrooms are not high in calories, and there are many dietary dishes from them. Positive reviews about the use of mushrooms in diets were left by many nutritionists working in medical publications, for example, Wuy-ning magazine, which published photos of various healthy dishes.

In medicine, muer has found distribution due to the content of vitamins and minerals in it. On sale you can find various mushroom ointments aimed at improving the condition of the skin, relieving pain in various places, as well as various muer-based granular vitamins.

In China, the medicinal properties of these mushrooms were identified as early as the middle of the 14th century, when conventional medicines were not yet widespread. They have been successfully used as medicinal formulations for colds, headaches and various other ailments. An antiseptic ointment made from muer, rice, and green tea infusion was common.

But one should not get too carried away with self-treatment, in case of a serious illness, one should consult a doctor and take modern medicines.

On mushroom farms, muer is usually dried. There is a way to pickle these mushrooms, but this option is not popular with local residents, but is done only for the sake of selling to tourists. Salting of these mushrooms is not used, salt kills all the useful components and the taste of mushrooms.

The absence of fat, low amount of carbohydrates, and high protein content have made muer an excellent food for bodybuilders who are in preparation for bodybuilding competitions. And athletes from China and Japan take advantage of this by adding dishes from this product to their diet and taking prizes in competitions with their help.

It should also be noted the influence of the plant on the emotional state of a person. Infusions of these mushrooms have always had a calming effect on the human nervous system, relaxing his body and clearing the mind - they acted as relaxing drugs.

Ancient shamans in China used a mixture of muer with mint and motherwort to enter a trance state.

In Russia, you can try muer in various elite restaurants and specialized Chinese food stores. If possible, you should try the option where it is sold in a black steel box, because such packaging retains a pronounced taste, at the same time healing properties.

For self-preparation of Chinese soup, the photo of which is incomparable, you will need:

• Chinese rice - 200 g;
• mushroom - 100 g;
• soy sauce - 30 ml;
• onion - 2 pcs.;
• black pepper and salt - to taste.

The flavor of muer should not be overpowered, and rice that does not have a distinct flavor of its own is ideal.

Cooking instructions include the following recipe:

1. Boil rice in salt water.
2. Mushrooms at this time need to be fried together with onions in a pan with oil.
3. Then add onion, rice, add soy sauce, sprinkle with pepper, salt and simmer for 10 minutes.

The dish is ready.

Muer is useful, but, unfortunately, it is difficult to get it in Russia. It has become widespread in cooking and medicine. If you have the opportunity to try this product, don't miss it.

Fried Chinese mushrooms Muer (video)

Today we invite you to master a dish that will be appreciated not only by fans of oriental cuisine, but also by everyone who loves juicy spicy snacks. An unusual salad with tree mushrooms in Chinese is prepared in several ways, we have chosen the most popular of them. In addition, one of the main advantages of cooking is, of course, its speed, because everything about everything will take no more than half an hour of our time.

Chinese tree mushrooms for salad

The main ingredient in Chinese salad is tree fungus, and if you have never come across it on sale, it will not be easy to find it. And not so much because it is rarely found on our shelves, but because of its invisibility.

Tree mushrooms, or, as they are also called mu er or moon, are sold only in dried form - this significantly increases their shelf life, since ready-to-eat mushrooms are stored for no more than a couple of days and only in the refrigerator.

Dried mu er are sold in very small packages, but you should not take several at once - from a box the size of a block of processed cheese, you can make an appetizer for 4 people, if you soak it correctly and keep the allotted time.

How to soak mu er

Tree mushrooms are poured entirely with boiling water, the water can be slightly salted and dripped with half a teaspoon of vinegar. Leave them like this for an hour and a half, so that they open up.

However, if we decide to pour them in the evening so that we can start preparing the salad in the morning or do it, on the contrary, in the morning before leaving for work, it’s okay, the taste will not get worse.

Ready-to-eat mushrooms will increase in size by 6-8 times. Now you can start cooking any snack of your choice!

Since an oriental dish can be prepared in several ways, we will go from simple to complex and make, for starters, a salad with a minimum of ingredients.

Spicy Chinese salad with tree mushrooms

Ingredients

• Woody Chinese mushrooms- 1 package + -
• - 1 PC. + -
• - 2 cloves + -
• - 1/2 tsp + -
• - 2 tbsp. + -
• — 2 pinches or to taste + -
• Ground red pepper- 1/2 tsp + -

Making homemade Chinese salad

1. We soak the mushrooms and 10 minutes before we are going to drain them, we start preparing the salad.
2. First, prepare the onion - cut it into half rings or cubes, as you prefer to see it in a salad, and peel the garlic.
3. Pour the oil into the pan and, as soon as it is very hot, pour the red pepper powder into it. It is necessary to overcook the spice so that it does not burn and does not interrupt the taste of other products, but only emphasizes it and gives a little spiciness.
4. We keep the pepper on medium heat for 30-40 seconds, stirring constantly, and then put the onion to it, mix and leave to warm up until light golden.
5. Drain the mushrooms, let drain and cut into thin strips. Stir the ruddy onion again and pour chopped mushrooms with boiling frying.
6. While the salad has not cooled down, we pass the garlic through the press and spread it to the rest of the ingredients. We stir, add salt and leave. Serve when the Chinese salad is at room temperature.

If desired, garlic can be fried along with onions - this will make the salad less spicy, but more aromatic and slightly change the taste.

For those who like snacks with a lot of ingredients, we recommend preparing a salad according to the following recipe.

Chinese mushroom salad with carrots

Pour the mushrooms and leave them to swell. Then we drain and, while they drain, we prepare the rest of the ingredients.

How to Make Homemade Chinese Tree Mushroom Salad

• 1 carrot three on a coarse grater or chopped on a vegetable cutter.
• 1 onion cut into small cubes or very thin half rings.
• In a frying pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, first onion, then add chopped carrots to it. Keep it until it becomes soft and browned.
• We cut the mushrooms into thin strips and send them to the pan - additional heat treatment will make the salad unusually juicy. It is not worth keeping them on fire for a long time, 10 minutes is enough for them to remain crispy.

We remove the finished salad from the heat, transfer it to a salad bowl and, while it cools down, prepare the dressing.

dressing preparation

1. Mix 2 tbsp. soy sauce with 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. vinegar;
2. Squeeze out (optional) 1-2 cloves of garlic;
3. Sprinkle red pepper to taste, but no more than 1/3 tsp, since it is not fried.
4. Shake everything properly, it is better to use a jar with a lid and pour over the salad.

We mix the dressing, sprinkle the finished salad in Chinese style 1-2 tbsp. sesame seeds and serve immediately. Especially delicious appetizer with tree mushrooms in the form of heat.

If you want to give the salad a special spicy touch, you can take Korean carrots. For this amount of ingredients, it will take 200 g. You don’t have to fry it - add it raw directly to the salad.

But such a salad can be not only a great appetizer, but also a full-fledged oriental dinner, if you add it with a couple of additional components.

Chinese wood mushroom salad with funchose

We brew a pack of mushrooms with boiling water, as indicated above, and after 40 minutes proceed to the preparation of the remaining ingredients.

1. Boil 150 g of funchose or the same amount of rice noodles according to the instructions, drain it and put it in a salad bowl.
2. We clean 1 onion and fry it in oil with or without pepper, and while it is browning, cut the mushrooms into strips.
3. Add tree mushrooms to the onion and hold for about 10-15 minutes. Spread hot to funchose.
4. Beat 2 eggs with a pinch of salt and fry 2-3 pancakes from them, depending on the diameter of the pan. The main thing is that we bake them on both sides, like classic pancakes from dough. Ready immediately, without waiting for cooling, cut into strips and send to a salad bowl.
5. At the end, cut the fresh cucumber into thin slices-sticks.

Preparing the dressing: mix 2 tbsp. soy sauce with 1 tbsp. oil, refined sesame or sunflower, squeeze 1 clove of garlic.

Dress the salad and mix it, sprinkling with sesame seeds. It can be served both warm and cold, when it is well infused.

If you want to make the dish even more satisfying, add 150-200 g of smoked finely chopped chicken to it - it will add additional aroma and taste.

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in preparing a salad with tree mushrooms in Chinese style, on the contrary, even a novice hostess can make this appetizer. Try to surprise your guests or please your family with an unusual dinner or an original dish on the festive table. You'll see - everyone will ask for more!

Before you start cooking anything with Chinese tree fungus, you need to properly prepare it. The packaging of this product always has instructions for use, but there are some subtleties that are not mentioned in it.

So, soak muer necessary in warm water, slightly warmer than room temperature. In no case should hot water be used, otherwise the result will be a slimy mushroom mass that is unsuitable for food. After soaking mushrooms need to be sorted out, rinsed and poured with cold water. In this form, they should be left in a cool place for at least 12 hours. After a specified period of time, you can start cook muer. Drain the water, add a little salt to the mushrooms and season with a small amount of 9%-nogo vinegar.

Original Chinese Tree Mushroom Snack

Ingredients:

2 packs of dried tree mushrooms

1 can of canned corn

2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 bulb

2 garlic cloves

100 ml soy sauce

How to cook the original Chinese tree mushroom snack:

1. Prepare Chinese mushrooms in advance and cut into small pieces.
2. Cut the onion into thin half rings and fry in vegetable oil in a well-heated pan along with mushrooms for about 5 minutes.
3. Drain any liquid from the canned corn and add the kernels to the pan. Add 1 cup of water to the mixture, simmer until the liquid has completely evaporated.
4. Pour in the soy sauce, and then add the garlic passed through the press. As soon as the sauce in the pan begins to boil, the fire must be turned off.
5. A ready-made Chinese snack made from wood is served warm.

Delightsofculinaria

Ingredients:

1 pack dried Chinese mushrooms

200 g boiled or smoked chicken

1 small onion

1 carrot

100 g funchose

1 fresh cucumber

1 garlic clove

vegetable oil - for frying

sugar - to taste

salt - to taste

soy sauce - to taste

How to cook Chinese salad with funchose and tree mushrooms:

1. Mushrooms prepare and coarsely chop.
2. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater, cut the onion into thin half rings, mix them with mushrooms and fry in vegetable oil until fully cooked.
3. Until the vegetables reach the desired state, cut the chicken meat into strips, grate the fresh cucumbers on a coarse grater, and boil the funchose, put it in a colander and let it cool to a slightly warm state.
4. When the vegetables are finally ready, and the funchose has cooled down, you can put all the ingredients in a deep salad bowl. Next, the salad should be seasoned with soy sauce, salt, pepper, add sugar and chopped garlic and mix thoroughly.
5. After that, the dish must be put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so that the salad is infused.
6. Chinese salad with funchose and tree mushrooms is served as an independent dish.

Ingredients:

• Tree mushrooms (Muer) - 1 pack (20 grams),
• Onion - 1 head (medium size),
• Carrots - 3 pieces (about 100 grams),
• Garlic - 2 cloves (small)
• Soy sauce - 2 - 3 tbsp. spoons,
• Black and red ground pepper - 1 pinch each,
• Ground coriander - ½ tsp (without a slide),
• Vegetable oil (odorless) - 2 - 3 tbsp. spoons,
• Water (boiling water) - 1 liter.

In the East, tree mushrooms are widely distributed, because they are not only tasty, but also very useful. It contains so much protein that it can be put on a par with meat products in terms of its content. Muer is rich in trace elements, thanks to which it saturates the body during fasting and diets.

Most often, soups, salads are prepared from tree mushrooms, and we will fry them with carrots and onions, an ideal dish for fasting. Below in the recipe I will show you how to cook Chinese tree mushrooms with carrots.

How to cook Chinese tree mushrooms Muer, recipe with photo

First you need to prepare the ingredients, peel the carrots, onions and garlic.
Remove the wrapper from the mushrooms and place them in a deep bowl. Boil water.
Pour boiling water over mushrooms. Cover the top of the cup with a plate or lid and leave for half an hour.
In hot water, the mushrooms will begin to increase in size, and will reach a weight of 200 grams, and in appearance they will become like “ears”. Remove the mushrooms from the water and rinse thoroughly in cold water.
Then put on a cutting board and cut into small pieces, cutting out the hard parts, we will not need them.
Grate peeled carrots for Korean salads. Cut the onion into thin half rings. Grind the garlic, you can use a garlic press or chop it with a knife.
Pour oil into a frying pan and heat it up.
Dip the onions, carrots and garlic into the hot oil. Fry until soft over medium heat.
After 5 - 8 minutes, add the prepared mushrooms. Stir the ingredients. Simmer for a couple more minutes.
Then add soy sauce, ground black and red pepper, coriander. Stir and fry for another 5 minutes over low heat. That's the whole recipe. Now you know how to cook Chinese tree mushrooms.
Ready-made mushrooms can be served as a dish on their own, but they also pair perfectly with boiled spicy rice. Put the mushrooms and rice on a plate and serve with fresh herbs when serving.

Final recipe photo: Fried Chinese tree mushrooms

On a note:

Muer or tree fungus, popularly called "tree ear", grows in China and rarely gets on our tables. You can meet them in our area only in the store, they are sold dry, pressed small rectangles of 20 grams. But in the process of soaking, they increase 10 times, this is a very interesting action.

The muer mushroom (Chinese black tree fungus) is mainly found in Asian countries. It is similar in shape to oyster mushrooms, grows mainly on deciduous trees, rather than on conifers. The Chinese nicknamed the mushroom "tree ear", and it really looks like an ear. This mushroom is simply a storehouse of substances useful to a person: protein, vitamins B and C, trace elements (iron, calcium, phosphorus) and a complete absence of fat.

There is a legend about this mushroom, as if for the first time this mushroom appeared on a tree that Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, chose for hanging. People who saw the similarity of the fungus with the human auricle called this mushroom "the ear of Judas."

There are two types of muer mushroom: ear-shaped and hairy auricularia. Their difference in appearance and color - ear-shaped mushrooms have an ear-shaped hat and gelatinous translucent pulp, and hairy (they are white Chinese tree mushrooms) are distinguished by a pubescent upper surface of a gray-brown color and their flesh is gray-white. Auricularia auricularis is the most commonly used species.

By the way, muer mushroom is not always black. There are white mushroom species (dessert) and yellow ones. In Russian supermarkets, you can most often find white Chinese tree mushrooms in dried form.

Auricularia auricularis has a very short pedicel and fits snugly against the tree. The pulp of the mushroom is transparent, very thin and gelatinous. The hat is usually rough on top, and smooth like an auricle inside. When dried, the fungus hardens and decreases in size, but not much.

The mushroom has been used in medicine and cooking since ancient times, especially in ancient China. For example, an infusion of these mushrooms was used by ancient Chinese peoples to treat eyes and sore throats.

In addition, the use of the fungus was also noticed in European countries - Germany, Scotland and Ireland, as stated in historical information.

Medical properties of the mushroom muer

Muer is useful for people suffering from anemia, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. It contains antitumor substances, and the fungus also copes with infections of the upper respiratory tract, acting as a mild antibiotic. The benefits of Chinese tree mushrooms make them a necessary attribute of the daily diet of the elderly.

Muer is mainly used for treatment and prevention:

• anemia
• Hypertension, obesity and diabetes
• Increased levels of acidity and cholesterol
• Reduced immunity

Auricularia ear is used in both folk and traditional medicine. For example, in the treatment of severe poisoning, it acts like activated charcoal, that is, it acts as a strong absorbent. In addition to absorbent properties, muer mushroom has prebiotic properties, which allows it to be used in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Due to the ability of the muer mushroom to improve the composition of the blood, it is used by traditional medicine to restore the human body after radiation and chemotherapy. Also, wood fungus muer has a property that is useful for athletes - improving metabolism and reducing body weight due to the absence of any fat in the mushroom.

Auricularia ear also has a number of useful properties in cardiovascular diseases, namely, it has a therapeutic effect on blood clotting, which helps to avoid the occurrence of blood clots; helps in the presence of malignant and benign tumors; has a hemostatic, anti-inflammatory and anesthetic effect.

Muer's nutritional composition and culinary uses

Muer has a rich nutritional composition, namely rich in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, macronutrients and microelements. The composition also includes magnesium, calcium, silicon, potassium and other elements no less necessary for the human body.

You can cook Chinese muer mushrooms as your heart desires: boil, fry, pickle older mushrooms and eat “young growth” raw, for example, by adding funchose to a salad. They taste slightly sweet, slightly crunchy in the mouth and resemble cartilage.

Muer mushrooms go well with various food groups, they will complement meat, boiled rice and potatoes well. And if you add fried onions, chicken fillet, ginger, garlic and a little soy sauce to the mushrooms and simmer it all over low heat for 10 minutes, you will get a delicacy beloved by the Chinese and Japanese.

They are usually sold in bags or boxes, in dried form. Before using them, it is necessary to fill the mushrooms with water and leave for about 2 hours. Ideally, soak them before going to bed and leave them overnight. After that, the mushrooms swell and increase in size. In order to feel the taste of the mushroom, a few pieces are enough, it is not necessary to use the entire pack at once. Soaked mushrooms can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. In dry form, mushrooms can be stored for a very, very long time.

Another unusual feature of Chinese black muer mushrooms is that they have no mushroom taste at all. When the mushrooms are just taken out of the bag, you can feel a slight aroma of smoke, which completely disappears after soaking.

mushroom cultivation

For those who are fond of growing mushrooms, there is great news - these mushrooms can be grown at home! It is enough to make 2 cuts on the branches of a deciduous tree (maple, elder, alder), and place the mushroom mycelium there. The length of the branches recommended by experts is up to 1 meter, and the diameter is 15 cm.

Favorable time for planting is from April to May. Mushrooms should be germinated at a temperature of 20 degrees in special collars. The germination process usually takes 3 months, and then the logs are installed in a place protected from sunlight.

If the weather was warm and humid, then by the end of summer you will be able to collect ready-made fruits! It is worth remembering that harvesting occurs only when white pores appear on the bottom of the cap. Usually, fruiting continues for 6 years, but subject to all conditions of care.

Chinese muer mushrooms are absolutely harmless to the human body, and, by the way, have no poisonous analogues in nature. The only thing to be wary of is individual intolerance to mushroom components, for example, chitin. Also, special attention and caution should be shown during lactation and pregnant women. We do not recommend giving muer mushrooms to children under 10 years of age.

Summing up, I would like to wish you not to be afraid to experiment, but within reason, watch what you eat and enjoy your meal!