{"id":7364,"date":"2017-01-24T16:35:18","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T08:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theburningkitchen.sg\/?p=7364"},"modified":"2018-09-12T23:54:26","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T15:54:26","slug":"how-to-choose-shiitake-mushrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theburningkitchen.com\/how-to-choose-shiitake-mushrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose Chinese Dried Mushrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever felt at a loss when choosing Chinese\u00a0dried mushrooms, and wondering if you were getting cheated? This guide will teach you the different grades of Chinese mushrooms to look out for and how to select the best ones!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Its almost Chinese New Year and everyone is busy stocking up on ingredients for the reunion dinners traditionally celebrated by Chinese families.<\/p>\n

So NOW’S the best time<\/strong> to\u00a0 beef up your knowledge about common Chinese New Year ingredients, starting with dried Chinese mushrooms!<\/p>\n

BUT FIRST, A QUIZ!<\/span><\/h1>\n

Q: What is the difference between the two types of Chinese dried mushrooms below? Which one would you choose and why?<\/strong>\"Braised<\/p>\n

P.S. If you just want the short answer, you can scroll down to the bottom of the post to satisfy your curiosity!<\/p>\n

Different Grades of Dried Shiitake Mushroom<\/span><\/h1>\n

There are 3 different grades of Chinese Mushrooms (Dried Shiitake Mushroom) or\u00a0\u9999\u83c7 (Xiang Gu) commonly used in Chinese cooking.<\/p>\n

1. Flower Mushrom (\u82b1\u83c7 Hua Gu)<\/span><\/h2>\n

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WHAT:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The best grade of dried shiitake mushroom is known\u00a0as the Flower Mushroom or \u82b1\u83c7 (Hua Gu) (photo, left).<\/p>\n

HOW TO IDENTIFY:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You can easily identify them by the distinctive fissures on its cap which look like the pattern of a flower (photo above, left) compared to normal grade mushrooms which are completely brown (photo above, right).<\/p>\n

BEST USED FOR:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Flower Mushroom (Hua Gu) is best used for dishes where the mushrooms are the star of the dish, or where dish requires the whole mushroom without being sliced up.<\/p>\n

Some of my Chinese New Year picks of dishes that use Flower Mushrooms include Pen Cai (\u76c6\u83dc),\u00a0Braised Claypot Tofu with Vegetables (\u7ea2\u70e7\u7802\u9505\u8c46\u8150)<\/a> and\u00a0Braised Chinese Mushrooms (Men Dong Gu)<\/a>\u00a0which is often paired with ever-auspicious Dried Oysters (Ho Si, meaning ‘good things’) and Black Moss (Fatt Choy, meaning ‘prosperity’)!<\/p>\n

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2.Winter Mushroom (\u51ac\u83c7 Dong Gu)<\/span><\/h2>\n

WHAT:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The next best grade is known as the Winter Mushroom or \u51ac\u83c7 (Dong Gu).<\/p>\n

HOW TO IDENTIFY:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Its simple enough to distinguish Flower Mushroom, but the difference between\u00a0Winter Mushroom (photo below, left) and the Fragrant Mushroom (photo below, right) are much more subtle. Here are some of the tell tale signs you can look out for:<\/p>\n