This wood ear mushroom salad is a simple and refreshing cold appetizer that is bursting with flavor, just like you’d find in a Chinese restaurant.
It’s rare to see wood ear mushrooms salad on an American Chinese takeout menu. But if you’ve been to restaurants that serve dishes more loyal to authentic Chinese traditions, wood ear mushroom salad is a dish that you can’t miss.
Depending on the region, there are many ways to make a wood ear mushroom salad. Some are more on the spicy side and some are sweeter. In Northern China, we even have a version with a dressing containing mustard and honey.
Today I want to introduce you to the wood ear mushroom salad that my mom likes to make. It uses a simple soy sauce and vinegar based dressing that is savory, sour and slightly sweet. Then you will make a hot fragrant oil by frying Sichuan peppercorns and drizzling it into the dressing to bring out the flavor of the aromatics.
What are wood ear mushrooms
Wood ear mushrooms, or Mu Er (木耳), have a crunchy texture and dark brown color and are shaped like ears. A raw wood ear mushroom has a grassy and woody fragrance, but doesn’t have a strong taste once cooked. Or, you could say, it tastes like whatever sauce it’s served in.
Dried wood ear mushrooms are a must-have item in the Chinese kitchen because they have a long shelf life. You can rehydrate them any time you need them and use them in salads, stir fried dishes and soups to add texture and color.
For example, wood ear mushrooms are a key ingredient in Hot and Sour Soup, Cantonese Steamed Chicken, and Northern Chinese Noodle Sauce.
You can easily find dried wood ear mushrooms at large Asian markets and Chinese grocery stores. You can also purchase them on Amazon.
Wood ear mushrooms salad ingredients
Here are the ingredients I use in the dressing:
- Garlic
- Light soy sauce
- Chinkiang vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
- Peanut oil
- Sichuan peppercorns
They combine to make a delicious vinaigrette that is savory, sour and slightly sweet, full of aroma.
I used some fresno chili pepper in my wood ear mushroom salad for color and texture. You can use any hot chili pepper or sweet pepper you prefer, or skip it all together.
How to make wood ear mushroom salad
First, measure out the dried mushrooms and rehydrate them in warm water. As you can see in the picture below, the mushrooms expand their size by a lot once soaked. If you don’t have a scale, I would use a small handful of dried mushrooms. It will make a proper sized appetizer once rehydrated.
Mix together the vinegar and soy sauce dressing. Then cook Sichuan peppercorns in hot oil to infuse the oil with a fragrant flavor. Once the Sichuan peppers turn dark and the oil is hot, remove the peppercorns and drizzle the oil onto the sauce. This step is very important. The hot oil sizzles the sauce, bringing out the flavor of the ingredients. It also makes the sauce easy to emulsify, so it coats the wood ear mushrooms much better.
Then you can mix the sauce with the wood ear mushrooms, chili peppers and cilantro.
NOTE:
Because wood ear mushrooms have a smooth surface and they don’t absorb sauce, it’s very common to have a small pool of sauce on the bottom of your bowl. You can toss the salad a few times when serving, to make sure the mushrooms are coated.
How to serve wood ear mushroom salad
Wood ear mushrooms are often served as a cold appetizer to start a meal. No matter whether you’re serving Steamed Pork Dumplings, Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup, or Sichuan Boiled Fish, the wood ear mushroom salad is a great appetizer to accompany the meal for added texture and nutrition.
Wood ear mushroom salad can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for a day or two, making it a convenient dish to have when you’re preparing a multi-course meal for a dinner party.
Other delicious cold appetizers
- Easy Chinese Cucumber Salad (拍黄瓜)
- Chinese Pickled Cabbage (A Quick Pickle Recipe)
- Chinese Spinach Salad with Peanuts (老醋菠菜花生)
- Spicy Eggplant Salad (凉拌茄子)
- Chinese Celery and Peanut Salad
Wood Ear Mushroom Salad (凉拌木耳)
Ingredients
- 0.5 oz (14 g) dried wood ear mushrooms (yield 2 cups once rehydrated)
- 2 cloves garlic , grated
- 1 fresno pepper , sliced (or other chili pepper of your choice) (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
- 1/4 cup cilantro , coarsely chopped, for garnish (Optional)
Instructions
- Combine wood ear mushrooms with 3 cups of warm water in a large bowl. Rehydrate until they soften, 20 minutes or so. Gently rinse the mushrooms with tap water. Remove the tough ends from the mushrooms and tear them into small bite-size pieces.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add wood ear mushrooms and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until turning tender. Drain, rinse the mushrooms with cold water, drain again, and place into a medium bowl. Add the chili pepper (if using).
- Combine garlic, light soy sauce, black rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Stir to mix well.
- Heat peanut oil in a small skillet until warm. Add Sichuan peppercorn. Cook until you can smell a strong fragrance, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Remove and discard all the peppercorns with a slotted spoon. Immediately and carefully pour the hot oil into the small bowl with the soy sauce based mixture. Mix well.
- Combine the sauce and wood ear mushrooms in a bowl, toss a few times.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve as a cold appetizer.
Ha … when I spent a few days in Beijing the weather was just like the third picture! 😉
I’ve never heard of these mushrooms before, Maggie, but once again this sounds like a wonderful dish. Good-looking, too!
That’s unfortunate, but the weather does look like this most of the days now… Next time if you go to a Japanese restaurant and order tonkotsu (or miso) ramen, you might see some black stripes on top of your noodles. They are wood ear mushrooms 🙂
We always order this salad when we eat out! Apparently the mushrooms reduce your cholesterol levels too did you know that?
That I didn’t know! It is a great salad isn’t it? I wish more people will give it a try.
Hi, can I make this ahead of time and store in the fridge? Would 24 hours be ok?
Hi Jen, yes you can make this salad ahead (without adding cilantro) and store it in the fridge for 24 hours without problem. Garnish the cilantro before serving, so they won’t turn to brown color.
Happy cooking and hope your dish turns out great!
Très bonne recette,nous en avons mangé a Pekin et c’était délicieux!
Justement je cherchais cette recette!
Chantal;
A small local business makes this with the mushrooms, cucumber, and green onion. Sooo good. Now I can make this at home!
We have fresh wood ear mushrooms at our Farmers Market. Do they need to be cooked first or can you use them raw?
Awesome recipe!! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a flavorful and simple recipe, I loved it! I really wanted to use my wood ear mushrooms but wasn’t in the mood for making a broth-based dish, and this recipe was perfect 🙂
Easy and delicious.
This is a great little side dish and good way to use tree ears!
We’ll make this regularly …