Straw mushroom

Champignon de paille

What it is

Grown on spent rice straw in southern China for centuries, it is picked while still shut inside its egg, before the cap tears through the veil. Cold kills it - a few hours in a domestic fridge is enough - which is why it travels the world in tins and is never dried.

In the kitchen

Drain tinned ones and blanch them thirty seconds in fresh water to lose the brine, then add them at the very end of the wok. Simmered long, the two layers separate and go slippery.

Goes with

Oyster sauce Garlic Ginger Chicken Silken tofu (kinugoshi) Spring onion Soy sauce Chili pepper

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