Lion's Mane Mushroom: Hunting and Cooking 大朵野生猴菇
Fall is the best season for mushroom hunting.In late September, my wife and I are heading
out to a forest in the Great Fall area inVirginia. Our plan is to find some nice hen
of the woods mushrooms.
Probably because of the dry weather, we findnothing during our 2 hours of walk. Just when
we are about to leave, we find two beautifullion’s mane mushrooms.
Lion’s manes are choice edible mushrooms.They also have great medicinal properties
and have been used in traditional Chinesemedicines. Recent studies also find these
mushrooms are useful to treat dementia, sothey have the nickname “smart mushrooms”
It has almost been two weeks since last rain. Thismeans the mushrooms contain just about the
most desirable amount of moisture, not toodry nor too watery, very fresh and ready for
harvesting.
these mushrooms usually grow on fallen ordead hardwood trees in gullies or hill slopes
near lake or river, like these two we stumbledon.
Lion’s manes do not have many poisonous lookalikes. They can be very easily identified
because of its unique feature. It’s a relativelylarge-size mushroom. The mature fruit body
can grow as large as a monkey’s head. perhapsthat's why Chinese people call it monkey’s
head mushroom. Of course, the most importantidentifying feature of the mushroom is its
white hair or spine on its surface.
To prepare the mushroom, I first use a smallbrush to remove the dirt from the surface.
Very gentally.
Because this mushroom is in perfect condition,I decide not to wet it in cleaning. If you
find it just a couple of days after rain,you probably will get a pretty wet mushroom
and you will easily squeeze a lot of waterout.
Then I cut off the root area. You can seethere are some dirts there that are not very
easy removable. so we got to cut these partsoff.
The last step is to use a dampened paper towelto wipe the surface up.
and remove with your fingers any dirts, orwhatever these black spots are.
I am going to try two recipes with this singlemushroom. The first one is butter sherry lion's
maine, for this dish I use sliced mushroom.
Add some olive oil to a pan, heat on medium-high.
Add mushroom slices and sauté. I prefer to use olive oil in this step because
it won't get easily burnt like butter. I willadd butter to flavor later on.
Be patient. it will take 1 or 2 mins for oneside of the mushroom to go golden brown.
I especially like the hairy part of the mushroom.It will be heavenly crispy.
When both sides are browned, add dry sherry.Then some butter.
Saute for another minute, and the butter sherrymushroom is ready to serve.
Don't forget to add some salt and pepper totaste.
For this recipe, I use cubed lion’s mane. As the name of the recipe suggests, you'll
need some chopped pineapple and green pepper.I use Korean green pepper for this dish because
it's mildly spicy. You can use green or redbell peppers if you want more sweetness.
I use fresh pineapple but I believe cannedpineapples will do as well.
To prepare the mushroom for deep fry, I firstbeat an egg in a bowl, and then mix some flour
and corn starch in another. I didn't addsalt in the flour mix, but if you prefer,
you can add it to enhance the flavor.
Bath mushrooms in egg beat, and then rollthem in flour mix. Repeat this step until
you get all mushroom coated with flour mix.
Heat some oil on high in a small sauce pan. Add mushroom piece by piece. let them fry
until the color turn golden yellow. If you are using a small pan as I am, do not
put all the mushroom in at once as you'lllower the temperature of the oil. Just fry
them in two groups.
Now we have beautifully fried lions mane.Set them aside, and now it’s time to cook
the pineapple and green pepper.
Heat on high some olive oil in a pan. Add pineapple and pepper.
Stir fry until almost cooked. Then it's time to add fried lion's maine bites.
and a little bit of soy sauce. If you prefer a sweeter taste, you can also
add some sugar right now. but the pineappleI use is pretty ripe and sweet and I think
the sweetness will be just fine. So i onlyadd some salt to taste.
My wife likes the first dish and I personallyprefer the second. but definitely both worth
trying. The pineapple perfectly neutralizesthe sour taste of the lion's mane. All
you get is sweet, juicy, tender mushroom withcrispy crust, taste just like crab meat.
We were out for the hen of the woods but found something better! See how we fine two super nice lion's manes and make two dishes out of them! ------------------------- playlist: Wild Mushroom Identification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV1JHniMPS4&list=PLSAF2IFc7dBSTIdrSEcqUxNWpLZHRM6BY Wild Mushroom Hunting & Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqYbywkfcV0&list=PLSAF2IFc7dBQcrIVvV1Y5SZPe4cYSWSbJ Wild Mushroom You Can Eat Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdreTXKG9P8&list=PLSAF2IFc7dBSNMWt9uGK2k3kTfydsAw3v Wild Mushroom Recipes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfG2BrEwc7s&list=PLSAF2IFc7dBReRhHttlKYLbZeDS0a-IL0 Wild Fruits and Plants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzYHncmE7ZY&list=PLSAF2IFc7dBSFlfUxXy1Q22zUoFA2Vdts All about Chanterelles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZqLBi6mHrQ&list=PLSAF2IFc7dBQPnKwOx75xhrdNuTekk66J ------------------------- About this channel: I am a wild mushroom lover and this channel is about my experience of mushroom identifying, collecting, and cooking. So far, I've eaten nearly fifty different species of wild mushrooms in Eastern North America. I'd like to extend this list and share with you my adventures of exploring the nature. If you like my videos, please SUBSCRIBE and share with friends to make the channel grow!