Vegetables
Wood ear mushroom
キクラゲ きくらげ kikurage
Also known askikurage
At its best in Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
When it is at its best
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
In seasonAvailable
How to cook
Chinese-style stir-fry
Stir-fried with pork and egg. The texture is the point.
Sunomono (vinegared dish)
Cut into strips and dressed with seasoned vinegar.
Soup
Added to a Chinese-style soup. The rehydrated dried kind suits this.
Sashimi
Fresh wood ear is blanched briefly and served with ponzu.
How to choose
Thick and springy, not dried out, with a pale underside.
Storage
Fresh: refrigerate and use within a few days. Dried: keeps a long time at room temperature.
Main areas
Good to know
A mushroom. Its Japanese name is written with characters meaning 'tree ear', after the ear-like shape in which it grows on wood. Japanese fresh wood ear is thick and markedly crunchy, and is treated as a different ingredient from the dried kind.
