Yunnan Mushrooms

Yunnan, known as the “Kingdom of Wild Mushrooms” in China, boasts over 800 varieties of edible wild mushrooms, constituting half of all the species in the world and two thirds of those in China. With such abundant resources of Wild Mushrooms, Yunnan people naturally regard them as an indispensable delicacy in their life. Here we give you a complete guide of Yunnan Wild Mushrooms.

Why Should Eat Yunnan Wild Mushrooms?

  • Flavour: Fungi have the sixth taste besides sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty – fresh taste. When they are mixed with other foods to cook, they have excellent flavor and are a good “delicious supplement”. For food, the most important thing is the taste. At this point, the wild mushrooms in Yunnan will never let you down! All kinds of fresh food will make you cannot to stop!
  • Improve immunity: wild mushroom is rich in monosaccharide, disaccharide and polysaccharide. German scientists have found that some wild mushrooms are rich in glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose, ribose and other aldehydes and ketoses, and the high molecular polysaccharides in wild mushrooms can significantly improve the function of the immune system.
  • Slimming and beauty care: mushroom contains a large number of inorganic substances, vitamins and proteins and other components. The best part of slimming food is that it contains cellulose higher than all plants, which has the function of preventing constipation and reducing the cholesterol content in the blood. And mushrooms are low calorie food, almost no calories. The fungus also has the detoxification function, helps each kind of harmful substance to discharge from the body, and causes the body shape to be light and slim.
  • Rich in vitamin D: other fresh vegetables and fruits do not contain vitamin D, with the exception of fungi. In addition, its vitamin D content is very rich, which is conducive to bone health.
  • Green Food: the wild edible fungus grows in the deep mountain, around the bush, the roadside, the shore, which is natural growth, and does not receive the pesticide, the fertilizer and so on chemical synthesis pollution.

Best Season to Eat Yunnan Wild Mushrooms

Every year after May, Yunnan enters the rainy season. With the coming of rainy season, the wild mushrooms in nature absorb the aura of heaven and earth, and the essence of the sun and moon, which is the best on the table. Every year in the rainy summer, Yunnan people will go to the mountains and forests to look for the gift of nature – wild mushrooms.

In Yunnan, Morels generally appear during early April to late May and from August and September after a rain. If you come to Visit Yunnan in the rainy summer, it’s the best time to enjoy the flavour of Yunnan wild mushrooms.

Category of Yunnan Wild Mushrooms

Tricholoma Matsutake

Matsutake is known as the “king of mushrooms”. It is one of the most expensive mushrooms in the world and is most favored by the Japanese as a delicacy, which is extremely precious. It has very high requirements for the growing environment and needs a high-altitude mountain without pollution to survive. They take 5 to 6 years to grow. Due to the strict growing environment and limited output, its price is extremely expensive. The recent price is more than 1000 per kilogram, so ordinary consumers generally seldom eat it. Many Yunnan people eat this variety raw, sliced thin and dipped in soy sauce and wasabe. They are also commonly used to flavor simple chicken soups alongside goji berries.

Termitomyces eurhizus

Termitomyces eurhizus(Jizong mushrooms) are thin, long, white and chewy. Jizong is famous for its tender and refreshing meat, rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, protein and other nutrients, and its taste is particularly sweet. When the lid is first unearthed, it is cone-shaped. When it is unfolded, it is raised in the center, its surface is yellow brown or black brown, its center color is darker, and its edge is often radially cracked. Jizong mushroom is recognized as a delicious fungus in the whole province, but it is usually cooked in soup. Fried Jizong mushrooms will damage its taste. Many families traditionally stir-fried and then preserve them to be used during the winter months as an addition to cold dishes or noodle broths.

Ganba Mushroom

Ganba mushroom is a rare wild edible mushroom in Yunnan, and it can’t survive in any other provinces and abroad. Alongside matsutake, ganbajun are the most expensive wild variety found in the province. It’s often found growing on or around certain species of pine trees in the mountains and forests in central Yunnan and western Yunnan. The surface of Ganba mushroom is grayish black with a layer of white, and it turns dark brown and take on rich aroma resembling dried beef while being aged. It can improve the freshness and flavor when cooked with other dishes. There are many ways to eat them, such as fried, stir-fried, etc.

Boletus Mushroom

Boletus mushroom is the most productive fungus in Yunnan and primarily grow in shady forests around Yunnan and have a rich nutty or woody flavor. It is named for its fertile flesh extremely similar to the bovine liver, and it is a rare and expensive wild edible mushroom, being one of the “four king mushrooms” and mainly including the white, yellow, black and red boletus. In addition to eat fresh, it can also be dried and sliced, and processed into dry goods. Boletus is a rare fungus with delicious taste and unique fragrance. It is rich in protein, carbohydrate, vitamin, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other minerals. It can be stir-fried, boiled, fried, etc.

Green-headed Mushroom

As a special kind of wild mushroom, it grows in a very pure environment, mainly in the grass in the forest from June to September every year. It is rich in protein, amino acid, plant fiber and other ingredients. It has a delicate entrance and a strong natural fragrance. These ‘green-headed mushrooms’ can be eaten fresh, or just dried for later use. It is non-toxic and has a variety of practices such as stir fry, stew, steam, fry, etc. During the summer months they are often slow-cooked as an integral part of savory aromatic soups.

See more about Top 10 Delicious Wild Mushrooms in Yunnan.

Popular Yunnan Wild Mushrooms Dishes

Scrambled Matsutake with Green Peppers

Wash and cut the matsutake into pieces, cut the green and red peppers into pieces, and cut the garlic into pieces for use; put the oil in the pot, when the oil temperature is 60% hot, pour in the matsutake and stir fry out of the pot, leave the remaining oil in the pot, when the oil is hot and stir in the garlic slices to stir out the fragrance, add the green and red peppers, salt, chicken essence and and thicken them with starch, stir evenly, and pour in sesame oil before leaving the pot.

Braised Jizong Mushrooms with Soy Sauce

Braised Jizong Mushrooms with Soy Sauce is a famous dish in Kunming. It’s fresh, sweet, tender and fragrant. It’s almost as good as chicken. It’s also nourishing and refreshing. Cut the Jizong Mushrooms into small pieces and fried with garlic and green peppers. It is made of abalone juice and fresh mushroom soup.

Taiji Ganba Mushroom

Clean the soil on the Ganba mushroom with a knife. Do not wash it with water or it will dilute the fungus fragrance. After that, use your hands to tear up the Ganba mushroom. If you cut it with a knife, it will become stale. Tear up the small dried mushroom and put it into the pot and slowly dry it with a small fire. Then put the dried pepper into the pot and stir continuously. Pay special attention to the heat at this time. When the flavor of dried peppers seeps into the Ganba mushroom, you can close the fire. It is spicy, tender, sweet, tough, dry, with a long and mellow aftertaste.

Yunnan Wild Mushroom Hotpot

Wild mushroom hotpot is a unique delicacy in Yunnan. Its food is ecological and delicious. It is the favorite of countless diners. Wild mushroom chafing dish is made of old mushroom soup, more than 7 kinds of dried wild mushroom slices and high calcium aggregate mixed for 7 hours. Add special fungus dishes and eat with wild fungus hot pot will not take away the fragrance of wild fungus, but also make up for some of the customers’eating habits of spicy and fragrant.

Keep Safety When You Eat Yunnan Wild Mushrooms

Yunnan wild mushrooms have high nutritional value and obvious nourishing effect. However, there are many different kinds of wild mushrooms in Yunnan. In addition to the familiar Tricholoma matsutake, chicken longitudinal bacteria and Morchella, there are many unfamiliar wild mushrooms. Some of those can be eaten by human beings, but some of them are poisonous. If people eat these poisonous wild mushrooms carelessly, they will experience serious poisoning symptoms, sometimes will lose life. So must pay attention to the safety when eat Yunnan wild mushrooms.

To eat wild mushrooms in Yunnan, please choose a special restaurant; if you want to buy wild mushroom in the food market, you should first ask what kind of mushroom it is and how to cook it. Otherwise, it may cause wild mushrooms poisoning. See Experts teach you how to identify poisonous wild mushroom.

Wild mushrooms should not be eaten in cold sauce. They should be fried and boiled thoroughly before eating. Do not drink alcohol when eating wild mushroom to avoid the adverse reactions between the ingredients and ethanol that may cause food poisoning. Within 10 minutes to 48 hours after eating wild mushroom, if there are symptoms of food poisoning such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, restlessness, hallucination, etc., please go to the hospital in time to avoid delaying the best treatment time. In addition to keeping medical records, laboratory reports and other relevant information, call 12331 for food complaints.

Mushroom Festivals in Yunnan

See more about Top Mushroom Festivals in Yunnan.

Recommended Yunnan Tour Package with Wild Mushroom Exploration