Black Fungus（木耳）

Cloud ear fungus (Auricularia polytricha, syn. Hirneola polytricha) is an edible jelly fungus. It is gray-brown in color and often used in Asian cooking. In Chinese, it is known as 云耳 (pinyin: yún ěr, lit. "cloud ear"), 毛木耳 (pinyin: máo mù ěr, lit. "hairy wood ear"), or 木耳 (pinyin: mù ěr, lit. "wood ear" or "tree ear"), and in Japanese it is called arage kikurage (キクラゲ, lit. "tree jellyfish"). It is also known as black fungus, black Chinese fungus (or mushroom), wood ear fungus, wood fungus, ear fungus, or tree ear fungus, an allusion to its rubbery ear-shaped growth. In Hawaii, they are known as pepeiao which means ear.

The fungus grows in frilly masses on dead wood. It is a dark brown color but somewhat translucent. It is usually sold dried and needs to be soaked before use. While almost tasteless, it is prized for its slightly crunchy texture and potential medicinal properties, including its newly discovered anticoagulant properties. Of note, the slight crunchiness persists despite most cooking processes.

It is stored dry. You can buy it at almost every Asian grocery store. Before cooking, you have soak it with water. Cleaning black fungus is very important. You have to tear off the dirty root, clean everything on it.

Laura's recipes with black fungus:

Egg Drop Soup with Spanich

Stir Fry Egg with Onion and Black Fungus

Stuffing Bun with Pork and Celery