June 6, 2013
On June 6, our fellow Slow Food member Angie Koong shared her passion for wild Yunnan mushrooms with our organization at Nico’s Spuntino Bar & Restaurant.
Yunnan Province is home to a staggering number of wild mushroom varieties, its Three Parallel Rivers region particularly abundant. Yet, due to its remote mountainous landscape, the wild mushrooms of Yunnan are still largely unknown to most food enthusiasts, even to mushroom aficionados.
Angie gave a presentation on the mushrooms’ nutritional benefits, their reflection of terroir, their symbiotic relationship with the forests and conservationist efforts to protect them.
One of our guests, Peter Schindler (founder of On the Road in China, a company that specializes in customized road trips through China) recounted his journey in August 2012 driving through various villages in Yunnan and his experience of foraging mushrooms with the locals. Peter shared some spectacular photos from his trip. The accompanying photo includes a shot of a monk’s home from whom he bought matsutake mushrooms.
For our meal, Angie paired the various mushrooms with different ingredients to match their characteristic flavours and textures. The canapés were not only tasty but beautiful in presentation! The “chicken fir” and black tiger paw mushrooms were meaty whilst others were more delicate. The chanterelles from Yunnan had flavours which were much lighter than those from Europe. And since the matsutakes are rare and can be very expensive, one must be cautious to buy from a reputable source.
In the photo, from the left to right:
• Yunnan mountain landscape
• Braised Yunnan wild “chicken fir” mushrooms on lightly steamed glutinous rice. They are also called Termitomyces mushrooms (鸡枞菌).
• Wild Yunnan white porcini and black tiger paws mushroom broth in soft polenta
• Wild Yunnan chanterelles mushrooms on cauliflower mousse croustade topped with dill
• Yunnan wild yellow porcini mushroom pate on toast triangles
• Yunnan wild matsutake mushroom and ginger broth
• The monk’s home in Yunnan Province
A special thanks and credits to Ron Yue and On the Road in China for their photos.