How to soak Hericium erinaceus at home

Hericium erinaceus is becoming more and more popular as an ingredient. Many people will buy this ingredient to eat, mainly to nourish the stomach and make their stomach digestion better. However, the most important thing before making Hericium erinaceus is to soak it in warm water so that the next step of the production process can be carried out. Most of them need to be soaked for about three hours before they can be eaten. It is best to wait until the Hericium erinaceus is completely softened, so that the effect will be better.

Cooking tips for Hericium erinaceus

How to soak Hericium erinaceus: Dried Hericium erinaceus is better to be soaked in water rather than vinegar. When soaking, wash the Hericium erinaceus first, and then soak it in hot or boiling water for more than 3 hours [soak until there is no white hard core. If it is not fully soaked, it will be difficult to cook the Hericium erinaceus soft due to protein denaturation during cooking]. It should also be noted that even if the Hericium erinaceus is soaked, cooking wine or white vinegar should be added during cooking. This can neutralize some of the bitterness of the Hericium erinaceus itself.

Taboos on eating Hericium erinaceus

Hericium erinaceus can nourish the body and strengthen the stomach, and there is no contraindication for it.

Recommendations for eating Hericium erinaceus

1. Before soaking, cut off the hard core of the Hericium erinaceus, then rinse off the dust with water, soak it in cold water for a while, take it out and squeeze out the water, then put it in hot or boiling water and cook for more than 3 hours. When it becomes soft and the hard core can no longer be felt, take it out, rinse it with clean water and squeeze out the water.

2. Add ginger, onion, cooking wine, broth, etc. (not enough to cover the Hericium erinaceus) and steam in a steamer for 40 minutes. Then slice or stir-fry or stew. Hericium erinaceus is most suitable for stewing soup. The nutrients can only be fully released when it is soft like tofu. You can also squeeze out the water after cooking and slice it and stir-fry it. Adding some alkali when cooking Hericium erinaceus can help remove the bitterness.

Hericium erinaceus is a traditional precious Chinese dish with tender meat, fragrant taste and delicious flavor. It is one of the four famous dishes (hericium head, bear paw, sea cucumber and shark fin). It is known as "mountain delicacy Hericium chinense and seafood delicacy Bird's Nest". This fungus belongs to the Odontaceae family. The surface of the cap has hairy fleshy spines, about 1 to 3 cm long. Its fruiting body is round and thick. It is white when fresh and turns from light yellow to light brown when dry. The base is narrow or has a short stalk, and the upper part is swollen. The diameter is 3.5 to 10 cm. From a distance, it looks like a golden monkey head, so it is called "Hericium erinaceus". It also looks like a hedgehog, so it is also called "hedgehog mushroom". Hericium erinaceus is an extremely delicious wild delicacy. Its flesh is tender, fragrant and tasty, and it is known as the "meat in vegetarian food".

The fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus is blocky, flat hemispherical or head-shaped, fleshy, 5-15cm in diameter, and unbranched (the difference from Hericium erinaceus). It is white when fresh and turns brown or light brown when dry. The fruiting body base is narrow or slightly short-stalked. The thorns are densely drooping, covering the entire fruiting body. The fleshy thorns are cylindrical, 1-5cm long and 1-2mm thick. The surface of each thorn is covered with hymenium, on which basidia and cysts grow densely. However, there are 4 basidiospores on the hymenium, and wild Hericium erinaceus generally grows in pairs.