Matsutake and boletus are also produced in north China, and morel in Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou. But Yunnan's fungus production is superior in terms of quality and flavor, according to Liu Zonglin, executive chef at Colorful Yunnan's Temple of the Moon branch.
To retain their original taste and flavor, it is best to fry or braise fungi. But Yunnan has plenty of other cooking methods. For example, they can also be steamed in soup, in a clay pot.
Another popular method is to cook fungus with Yunnan ham to give it a meaty flavor. The umbrella of the green head fungus can be steamed with diced Yunnan ham inside. Dry fungus can be fried with shredded Yunnan ham and green bean sprouts to offer a nice contrast between chewy and crunchy textures.
Dry fungus is traditionally used in fried rice to make the simple food a tasty winner and boletus can be braised with rice to lend its strong fragrance to the food staple. Termite mushroom can be shredded and put on a pizza, according to the chef.
Colorful Yunnan has developed some unique methods of its own. In one interesting dish, matsutake and termite mushroom are grilled on a flat iron wok, to release the fragrance, but retain a sweet and slippery tasting sensation.
Finally, Colorful Yunnan has combined its fresh wild fungi with seafood. Matsutake and boletus are prepared with abalone, and Liaoning sea cucumber, as a healthy side dish to balance the otherwise very high-protein seafood.
(Source: China Daily)
