Wood ear

Oreille de Judas

What it is

Its French and Latin names come from a medieval legend that Judas hanged himself from an elder tree, and the fungus grows on elder wood. Chinese cooking has used it for well over a thousand years, entirely for texture rather than taste.

In the kitchen

Soak the dried ones twenty minutes and they swell to five times their size. Never eat them raw.

Goes with

Soy sauce Ginger Toasted sesame oil Spring onion Garlic Rice vinegar Chili pepper Tamari

Also used with

Dried lily buds Harusame (mung bean vermicelli)

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