Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Tea Tree Mushroom



Brief introduction (from the back of this packet):

Tea Mushroom is one of the series products of the People Fortune Company. It is picked in the Daba Mountain which lies in Sichuan Province. The Tea Mushroom is a parasite of the oriental white oaks. In the wild nature, thanks to the special climate there, it is bathed in the sunshine and the moonlight, moistened by rain and dew. It is a kind of mushroom which has a long stem and tender pulp with a crisp and refreshing flavor.

Soaked and cleaned before using. Can be used in deep-fry or stir-fry.



A Chinese friend got us this Tea Mushroom from China (the direct translation would be Tea Tree Mushroom). He said this mushroom is very popular where he is from and it is delicious. Frankly this is the first time I have seen this kind of mushroom, something new for us to try. The stem of this mushroom is very long and I have no clue whether it can be eaten. I wonder why they package the stems if it can't be eaten? But the stem is pretty hard, so I cut off half and use the top half to test it out.

I just stir-fried it with some ginger, chicken and oyster sauce. This Tea Mushroom has a strong woody smell and pretty fragrant, in a mushroom way. But some of the stems were too hard to chew. Guess it's only the mushroom and the immediate stem below it can be eaten, the rest were too tough. Very interesting mushroom and glad to have a chance to try it.

If you have eaten this tea mushroom, can you let me know whether I did it right regarding the stem, okay? TIA!


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17 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 10, 2009 6:48 PM

    wow! sounds interesting, let me search for these babies here ^_^ (mushroom loverrr)

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  2. PearlFebruary 10, 2009 7:59 PM

    tea mushroom? mmm!

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  3. pigpigscornerFebruary 11, 2009 4:29 AM

    This is interesting, haven't had this before. I love mushrooms and would love to try this out!

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  4. Noob CookFebruary 11, 2009 9:17 PM

    I haven't tried this b4! Gotta look for it ;p

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 12, 2009 5:47 AM

    I usually use them in my soup.... otherwise they take quite a long time to soften and perhaps, not suitable for general stir fry.

    Cheers

    Ange

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  6. AnonymousFebruary 12, 2009 7:19 AM

    Hi,

    Just to share, I have bought this in Singapore also, the person sell to me recommend to boil it together with chicken/ or other meat to make soup. I have tried it, it make the soup smell nice! After boiling most part of the stem are soft, but some still hard to chew, so I just discard it.

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  7. Little Corner of MineFebruary 12, 2009 8:08 AM

    Sure Rita. :)

    Yup Pearl.

    Pigpigs, this mushroom is not bad at all. Worth a try!

    Ok noobcook. :)

    Thanks Ange. So people use this to cook soup more often ya.

    Thanks Anon, guess I will try braising it next time or cook soup with it. :)

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  8. tigerfishFebruary 12, 2009 4:58 PM

    I think I have tried using similar before - courtesy from my Chinese friend too :)

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  9. Babe_KLFebruary 12, 2009 9:18 PM

    gosh this is my first time to hear of such mushrooms. wonder how long would it take to hit our stores

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  10. daphneFebruary 13, 2009 6:57 AM

    Tea mushrooms! Another type of mushrooms? I'm keen to try!!

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  11. AnonymousFebruary 13, 2009 9:22 PM

    Hi !

    My Dad's colleague got us a big packet of it for CNY, his friend sent by Speedpost from China. My mom bought some from supermarket before so I'm quite familiar with it but those we got this time was really good. I simply stir fried it with minced pork and glaric. Don't remember how many gloves I put, too many to count I guess, LOL! I found garlic made the dish much more yummy, hehe. Oh, I cut the stem, keep in refrigerator for soup

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  12. Little Corner of MineFebruary 14, 2009 10:23 AM

    Wow, thank you Chumpman! Thanks for telling me that I can save the stems to make soup later as it hasn't cross my mind yet. Now I don't have to waste anything. Hehehe... Stir-fry with ground pork and garlic sounds yum. I love lots of garlic too! It's healthy for us so why not right? ;)

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  13. BitsFebruary 16, 2009 2:03 AM

    First time I am seeing this... no idea where to get it. But, it looks appealing.

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  14. AnonymousJune 24, 2010 12:35 PM

    these are pretty popular in northern china. you can probably find a lot of mandarin recipes that use them. this is my favorite mushroom, by far. you can eat the whole stem, you just have to soak it for a really long time. the stem is my favorite part!

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  15. Little Corner of MineJune 25, 2010 10:02 AM

    Thanks for your info. Anon.

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  16. Rainbow PrinceDecember 09, 2012 11:19 AM

    Nice site you have. I love these tea tree mushrooms. Yes, the stems are tough, but don't waste good food & nutrition ! Like with chive flowers I chop 'em real small so they don't have to get chewed & chewed. Or, otherwise, they make a very tasty broth.
    These have nice medicinal properties as well.
    The edible southern species Agrocybe aegerita, also called Agrocybe cylindracea or Pholiota aegerita,[3] is commonly known as Poplar mushroom,[3] Chestnut mushroom or Velvet pioppino (Chinese: 茶樹菇). [Also: willow mushroom.]

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  17. Mack SheppertonFebruary 01, 2013 8:16 AM

    Rainbow Prince is right about this mushroom’s medicinal properties. It has the anti-cancer properties that most edible mushrooms have. In addition, it also contains 17 of the 22 standard amino acids and 8 essential amino acids. That’s definitely something to think about the next time you come across these mushrooms!

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