Black wood mushroom is popular in Asian countries, but is almost unknown to Europeans. Auricularia auricula is the Latin name for these mushrooms, or Auricularia auricularis, but people often call them “tree ears”, or “dog ears”, for their characteristic appearance. In Asian countries, muer is called the “ear of Judas.” The main exporter of this product is China. There, the auricularia auriculata mushroom is grown on an industrial scale and supplied to the European market in fresh or dried form.
Description of the mushroom
“Tree ears” look beautiful in photos, but in nature they look even more unusual. Outwardly they look like burnt sheets of paper due to their brown color, and in shape they resemble the auricle. The size of the fruiting body can reach 10 cm, although its thickness does not exceed 0.5 cm. The outside is covered with small hairs, and the inside is wrinkled. The pulp is tender and translucent, with a jelly-like consistency, but as the mushroom ages it becomes coarser.
The Chinese black mushroom grows on dead trees in groups and even entire colonies. Most often they can be found in deciduous forests on alder or elderberry. However, even in mixed forests, lovers of “silent hunting” find this mushroom on a tree trunk. “Tree ears” bear fruit all year round, but they can only be found in the winter forest during the thaw period. They are also grown artificially all year round, just like champignons.
Useful and healing properties
In oriental medicine, the Chinese tree mushroom muer is usually used as a sorbent that cleanses the body, giving youth and health. Therefore, drugs based on it are most often prescribed to older people. However, the healing properties of the Judas ear specimen are not limited to these qualities, which prevent the aging process. In traditional and folk medicine, the mushroom is taken:
- to normalize digestive processes;
- to improve the condition of the heart and blood vessels;
- to relieve inflammatory processes;
- to reduce cholesterol levels;
- to relieve pain syndromes;
- for the treatment of allergies;
- for the prevention of cancer.
But the benefits of muer do not end there. Descriptions of the beneficial properties of the mushroom are found in ancient medical recipes. Healers used it as a poultice for eye inflammation. A mushroom popular in China since the 16th century. used by European herbalists. It was recommended to use it for sore throats. The mushroom was boiled in milk and then infused with beer or vinegar. The throat was gargled with an vinegar solution, and the product made using beer was taken orally.
Muer has 33 kcal, low calorie content, like all mushrooms. It contains a large amount of vitamins B and D and beneficial microelements such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium and iron. There are even more healthy substances in Chinese mushrooms than in meat. Muer can be used as a food product for people suffering from anemia, obesity, and diabetes.
Beneficial features
Since ancient times, Auricularia auriculata has been known in the East as a natural medicine, and today muer is used by fungotherapists all over the world.
The benefits of these organisms for the circulatory system are known. In particular, muer belongs to products that prevent excessive platelet formation. Researchers who studied this ability of the fungus compared it with the drug heparin, used in medicine to thin the blood.
Modern scientific research confirms that abalone has the ability to lower cholesterol, strengthen the cardiovascular system, and prevent the growth of malignant tumors. In addition, scientists have found scientific evidence that these unusual mushrooms are able to regulate stomach acidity, treat inflammation and irritation on the mucous membranes of the digestive organs. This product is useful for people with dysbiosis, gastritis, enterocolitis or chronic diarrhea. By the way, the last point may quite surprise many: they say, what mushrooms are for diarrhea! In fact, the astringent effect of abalone has already been proven in the laboratory. Diarrhea can be cured not only by fresh muer, but also by dried and powdered muer, which can be added in small quantities to other dishes that are more familiar to the patient.
Despite its very unusual appearance, wood ear has something in common with, for example, porcini mushrooms. This is the presence in their composition of a large amount of fiber and chitin (chitosan). And this is another reason why muer is beneficial for the digestive system. Fiber and chitosan are able to absorb toxic substances and remove them from the body, like the well-known activated carbon.
Thanks to this ability, muer can be useful in case of poisoning.
In addition to the benefits already listed, Chinese mushrooms have the properties of a natural antibiotic and are a natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. These mushrooms are useful for edema, as they help remove fluid from the body.
The unique chemical composition of abalone makes it a powerful natural antioxidant. Therefore, mushrooms are useful as a food with anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, it is believed that muer helps slow down the aging process in the body.
Wood mushroom has beneficial properties for the lungs, and therefore Chinese doctors advise smokers to include this product in their diet as often as possible. Muer contains some reserves of iodine, which is the main mineral for the thyroid gland. Combining seaweed with tree mushrooms can be an excellent remedy for treating or preventing iodine deficiency.
Dangerous properties of muer
Muer is not toxic. It is impossible to confuse Auricularia auriculata with similar mushrooms, since it does not have poisonous counterparts. The muer tree mushroom can cause harm to the body only if it grew in an industrial zone or other dangerous area and absorbed harmful substances.
Like all mushrooms, “tree ears” are contraindicated for diseases of the liver, gallbladder and thyroid gland. People who suffer from skin diseases should eat Chinese delicacies with caution. Muer is also contraindicated for children; tree mushrooms should not be eaten by pregnant and lactating women. And even those who are planning to have a child should give up the Chinese delicacy for a while.
Use in cooking
Chinese mushrooms are both an independent product and an essential ingredient in a large number of oriental dishes. In addition to medicinal qualities, they have many beneficial culinary properties. Their taste is delicate, and their aroma is rich and unusual.
Judas's ear goes well with any food. Boiled or fried, it is included in salads, soups, cold appetizers, meat and fish dishes. In dried form, “tree ears” are used as a seasoning. Since the Chinese delicacy contains few calories, Auricularia auricularis is also used in dietary dishes.
How to cook
The muer tree mushroom has an unusual feature - if you place it in water, it will begin to “grow” and increase almost 10 times in size, and then take on its original appearance. This property of the mushroom should be taken into account when preparing it. Before preparing the tree ears, they must be soaked in water for at least 1 hour. The water is drained several times.
Muer does not require immediate cooking, but can be stored for a short time after soaking. Most often it is sent to the refrigerator for a day or stored for several hours in a cool, dry place.
How to brew
The Judas's ear mushroom requires careful heat treatment, so it should be cooked for at least two hours. When boiled, it should be added to soups and salads. They even fry muer only after they have been subjected to many hours of heat treatment. Dried muers are also boiled; drying the abalone is not enough to put it into a dish in this form. But if you grind them into powder, no heat treatment is required. In this form, “wood ears” are used only as a seasoning.
Interesting cooking recipes
The muer tree mushroom, recipes for which are in every cookbook of oriental cuisine, is wonderful when fried. Most often, muer is sold in a small black package. Before cooking, remove the packaging and place the mushrooms in water. They will soon swell. For frying you will need only 300 g of product.
While the “tree ears” are in the water, they are cut for frying.
- 4 carrots,
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves of garlic.
- Pour vegetable oil into a heated frying pan and fry the vegetables for 10 minutes.
- Then remove the pan from the heat a little and add the mushrooms to it.
- Fill with water, close the lid and simmer for another 2 minutes.
- The dish is ready.
You can season it with sauce or seasoning to taste.
In Korea and China, salad with “wood ear” is often prepared. To do this, fry the red pepper, add a little oil to the pan and add mushrooms. Fry for another 2-3 minutes. Then put it on a plate, add onions, coriander, aromatic herbs and various seasonings to taste. Season the salad with soy sauce or vinegar.
Video recipe
Marinated muer mushroom
Use in cooking
Black and silver “ears” are similar in taste. They have a pleasant aroma and excellent taste. The dried parts are pre-soaked in cool water for 3-4 hours. The fruit body swells and increases in volume by 6-8 times.
Muer tastes more like gristle or jelly.
Cooks enjoy using this product to create original sauces and seasonings. They add it to soups, meat and fish dishes. “Ears” are suitable for filling pies, for pickling, frying or baking.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
When buying a package of muer at the supermarket, carefully read the instructions for preparing it. However, there are some points that are implied but not stated. Therefore, please note:
- First, the muer needs to be soaked so that the mushrooms from the compressed mass become individual specimens. Attention! Hot water cannot be used to soak muer, because... when exposed to high temperatures, you will end up with something slimy and unedible. Water slightly warmer than room temperature is suitable for this purpose.
- After soaking, they need to be sorted out, rinsed and filled with cold water for at least 12 hours. Although there are recipes that give other time frames for soaking.
Fans of this mushroom often recommend lightly salting the drained mushrooms and seasoning them with a small amount of 9% vinegar before cooking.
They are almost never used as independent dishes in European cuisine. But Asian cuisine is famous for a wide variety of dishes with the addition of these woody organisms. In Korea, they are fried with hot red pepper and other spices, sprinkled with fresh herbs and served as a main dish. “Silver ears” are well suited as a side dish to fried or boiled potatoes, rice and pork. Pairs well with fresh vegetables in salads.
Do you know what tree mushrooms are eaten with?
You can often hear from European housewives that “bear ears” have a strange taste.
I soak mushrooms for almost 6 hours, but they are tasteless.
The peculiarity of the Chinese delicacy is that the taste of woody mushrooms is revealed in the dish. Therefore, it is rarely used as an independent product.
Muer goes best with vegetable side dishes and meat. It is often fried and seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices. In China, muers are prepared with funchose, and in Korea they are fried in olive oil with the addition of pepper and herbs. Some gourmets claim that properly prepared wood mushrooms taste like fish. In many Asian countries, muers are equivalent to potato chips for their crunchy properties.
It’s easy to prepare delicious mushroom dishes: proven recipes with auricularia
Delicious dishes with mushrooms are prepared from both fresh and dried products. In the second case, the mushrooms simply need to be filled with hot water for a while, and they will acquire their original size, taste and shape.
For mushroom soup with seafood take:
- 2.5 liters of vegetable or mushroom broth;
- 1 onion;
- 150 g dried or 250 fresh mushrooms;
- 1 bell pepper;
- 6 medium champignons;
- 150 g fresh salmon;
- 15-20 shrimp.
Onions, peppers, mushrooms and fish are cut into slices or cubes. Vegetables are fried in butter until golden brown. Add prepared vegetables and mushrooms to the boiling broth and cook until they are ready. Approximately 2-3 minutes before turning off, add cubes of salmon and shrimp to the dish. After the soup is removed from the heat, let it brew under the lid for about 10-15 minutes.
“Chinese Tsai” salad is prepared from boiled chicken fillet, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, funchose, soy sauce, specially prepared pancakes and spices. Mushrooms are fried in butter with onions until light golden brown. The chicken is cut into strips, carrots and cucumbers are grated. Funchoza must be boiled first. After mixing eggs and starch, bake pancakes, which are then also cut into strips. All ingredients are mixed in a salad bowl, seasoned with spices and soy sauce.
