In this article I will show you the complete process to cook white fungus mushroom.
Let’s first start with the preparation part.
How to prepare white fungus?
When it comes to preparation, first choose good quality snow fungus which is slightly yellowish, or pale in color.
Also when choosing make sure the mushrooms are not bright white as it give an indication of being bleached.
If you are living in Asia it is easily available but if you are living outside of Asia, you can find these snow fungus in Chinese specialty stores, and Asian supermarkets at a reasonable price.
You can also buy it online from Amazon.
Now start by chopping the the snow fungus into small pieces.
Then wash minutely and pat dry or drain. You can also use paper towels for the purpose. However, I recommend you rinse the white fungus mushrooms in cold water for better results.
Now let’s move to the soaking process.
How to soak white fungus?
White fungus mostly comes dry, and you have to soak it in water for rehydrating to make it plump and soft before using it for cooking.
So start by taking out the desired white fungus mushroom from your storage box to rehydrate before cooking.
Cover the dried fungus with clean water, and leave it for a good one to three hours or until the fungus turns to be gelatinously soft.
And when you are soaking make sure that the water is three to four times the actual size of mushrooms.
Soaking time of the fungus depends upon how tightly packed the white fungus florets are.
You can soak the dense white fungal mushrooms overnight in the cold water.
Soak the loose white fungal mushroom florets for only 15 to 30 minutes.
In order to fasten the process, soak the fungus for half an hour.
Tear it into quarters, and again soak for 2 hours more.
After all this, the yellowish center will still be a bit hard but this reduced soaking procedure is good if the snow fungus is going to be cooked in a long boil, that is for about 2 to 3 hours.
The long cooking assists soften the hard center.
Ok now let’s cook the white fungus mushrrom.
How to cook white fungus mushrooms?
People commonly use white fungus mushrooms in soups used for soothing purposes, such as balancing the heat in lungs, treating dry cough, and nourishing the whole body.
In China and other Asian countries, white fungus mushroom is cooked with various other ingredients to release the excessive heat from the body.
There are many important benefits of white fungus mushrooms; some of which we are describing below:
- Improves brain health
- Improves skin tone and complexion
- Lessens the risk of heart diseases
- Imparts antioxidant properties in the body
- Improves the efficiency and functioning of the immune system to help defend the body against diseases in a better way.
- Controls and monitors the levels of blood sugar
Due to the striking benefits mentioned above, white fungus mushrooms are used in many dishes and preparations.
Mushrooms are used for both sweet and spicy preparations.
For instance, a white fungus mushroom in a sweet soup with rock sugar or in a savory form with chicken falls among the most popular ones.
The nutritional value of white fungus mushroom gets fortified when it is combined with the chicken.
Because of this reason, the white fungus chicken soup is a household name.
We are going to share the recipe of white fungus chicken soup in the following.
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken drumstick – skin removed by blanching
- Pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
- 3 liters of water
- 8-10 dried mushrooms – stalks removed
- 20 grams of white fungus – washed and soaked until soft – well-drained
Method
Boil down the water at an elevated temperature.
When it starts to boil, put all the ingredients into it, except pepper and salt.
Let the entire preparation simmer for about one and a half hour until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
In the end, when all the ingredients, including chicken, are cooked, put the desired quantity of pepper and salt into it.
Again, let it simmer to let the pepper and salt dissolve well.
The whole cooking process should take around half an hour if the mushroom is already soaked and softened.
Once it is cooked, take it out in a cleaned and dried bowl, and serve the delicious white fungus mushroom chicken soup.
Note: If you are a vegetarian, you can replace chicken with rehydrated dried fruits like dates, figs or apricots.
Aside from an appealing presentation and delicious taste, this white fungus chicken soup has the following health benefits:
- Has a high collagen content
- Regulates blood circulation
- Nourishes the whole body
Now let’s look at some information on eating white fungus.
Eating white fungus
Along with the amazing taste, the white fungus is beneficial for health with many useful impacts on the human body.
Also, it is easy to cook because of which it can be added to our everyday dishes easily.
Not all the food leftovers from the previous night are beneficial to health if consumed the next day. Some of these leftovers cause food poisoning and other health hazards.
White fungus soup is rich in nutrients, which get reduced if it is kept overnight.
So, the white fungus preparations should be avoided to eat overnight if you do not want to compromise on its nutritional value.
Finally, let’s also see how to store the white fungus mushrooms.
How to store white fungus mushrooms?
If you want to store the cooked leftovers of white fungus mushroom preparations, store them in the refrigerator.
However, the cooked white fungus is usually not recommended to store in a refrigerator for more than three days if its nutritional value is to be kept intact.
And in the case of dried white fungus mushrooms, if they are properly stored using air-tight containers, they can be kept fresh for about six months to a whole year.
