Wood Ear Mushroom Salad: A Perfect Meal to Beat Summer Heat

A wood ear mushroom salad is a perfect summer meal to cool off yourself during hot and beaming sunny days. However, many people don’t know what is the actual recipe to prepare this yummy and tasty salad. No worries. In this all-detailed blog, we have mentioned everything from an overview to ingredients and the recipe to prepare the wood ear mushroom salad in no time. However, before we dive deeper, let’s first understand the role of salads in your diet.

Why Are Salads Necessary Part of Your Diet?

With summers around the corner, it’s high time to get your pool cleaned, stock up your wardrobe with comfortable clothes, service your air conditioner, and many other things. Though making your home summer-ready is important, it is simultaneously vital to keep up with your health too. From drinking adequate water to using sunscreen, eating healthy, and staying hydrated are some of the ways to stay ahead of your health during summers.

When it comes to the best summer foods, there is a myriad of choices to choose from. From curd to salads, fruits, and buttermilk, there is no dearth of options. Out of all, salads make a light and refreshing meal and offer a whole host of health benefits. From keeping you hydrated to making you feel refreshed, cooling off you in the summer heat, keeping your tummy fuller for a longer time, helping you with weight management, and eliminating your unnecessary cravings, a salad in your diet can prove to be beneficial for your overall health. Further, salads are easy to make and act as the best source of adequate nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

There are different types of salads: green salad, fruit salad, greek salad, and cold salad just to name a few. One of the salads which is making noise in the health industry is the wood ear mushroom salad. Yes, you read that right!

It is a Chinese salad which you can enjoy at any time of the day whether morning or evening. Keep reading the blog to know what exactly is a wood ear mushroom.

An Overview of Wood Ear Mushroom

As the name suggests, a wood ear mushroom is a famous kind of fungus that looks like an ear and develops on wood. Available in different sizes and widths, this mushroom is also known as black fungus. There are many Chinese dishes that incorporate the wood ear mushroom as the main ingredient. One easy, simple, and popular Chinese side cold dish is the wood ear mushroom salad. Let’s find out the recipe for the wood ear mushroom salad.

How to Make Wood Ear Mushroom Salad

It is very easy to prepare refreshing wood ear mushroom salad that makes a perfect starter or side dish. All you need are some of the basic ingredients listed below.

Ingredients

• Dry wood ear mushrooms or black fungus
• Minced garlic
• Neutral oil
• Chili flakes
• Ground Sichuan pepper (optional)
• Sugar as per taste
• Soy sauce
• Chinese black vinegar
• Sesame oil
• Thinly sliced white onions
• Thinly sliced red bell pepper
• Chopped red chili
• Chopped cilantro
• Chili oil, for extra spice (optional)

Recipe

• The first step is to use warm water to rehydrate wood ear mushrooms for a minimum of 1 hour or until they bloom from absorbed water
• Meanwhile, prep the dressing. Put the garlic in a bowl
• Heat the neutral oil in the pot and put it over the minced garlic
• Add all the ingredients like chili flakes, sugar, soy sauce, Sichuan pepper, black vinegar, and sesame oil in a bowl. Mix all the ingredients well until combined
• Boil some water in a medium pot
• Add the mushrooms to hot boiling water and cook them for at least 2-3 minutes
• The next step is to add some ice cubes and water to a separate large bowl
• Take out the mushrooms from the pot and remove any excess water
• Place the mushrooms in an ice bowl. Let it rest for 10 minutes or even more
• Cut the mushrooms into smaller pieces and remove any hard or tough stems
• Take out the mushrooms from the ice bowl and use a kitchen napkin to dry them completely
• Place them in a larger bowl
• Add the dressing along with the chopped bell pepper, onion, chilis, and cilantro. Mix all the ingredients well. Add some chili oil if you like spicy food
• Serve and enjoy

You can immediately eat this salad or refrigerate it for later use.

Let’s Wrap Up

Hopefully, you liked the recipe. Whether you are a fitness freak or looking for something healthy yet scrumptious to satisfy your hunger, the wood ear mushroom salad caters to the needs of every food lover in the best way possible. 

You can even enjoy this extremely crunchy and tasty salad with simple hot garlic sauce.