When I was a child, in the late summer and early autumn, when the weather was fine after the rain, small pine mushrooms would emerge under the pine trees and between the grass blades on the mountain, and they had small brown umbrella covers, and the bright yellow mycelium underneath, which was particularly fresh. After school, my friends and I would take a basket to pick pine mushrooms, and soon the basket would be full.
At that time, there were really a lot of pine mushrooms, and they were all over the mountains. Every time it rains, you can pick a lot of it. When she got home, her mother would help clean up the pine mushrooms, remove the grass that stuck to them, and carefully peel off the brown canopy after cutting off the soiled roots. It is then washed and blanched, and then stewed with Chinese cabbage and vermicelli, and the taste is simply delicious.
For the pine mushrooms that cannot be eaten, the mother will dry them in the sun for winter consumption. Sometimes people go to the countryside to buy these pine mushrooms,** which are usually cheaper, and my mother will also sell some of the dried pine mushrooms to increase the family's income.
As I grew up, I left my hometown, but every year when I came home, my mother always prepared dried pine mushrooms for me to take away. However, many people don't know much about pine mushrooms. Let me give you a brief introduction.
Pine mushrooms are one of the very few wild mushrooms that cannot be cultivated artificially. In addition to having the conditions for normal mushroom growth, it must also grow with and attach to the pine roots. It grows mainly in shady or semi-shady pine forests at an altitude of 700 to 500 meters above sea level. The flesh of matsutake mushrooms is plump and has a delicious and tender taste. Although it is called matsutake mushroom, it is not the same mushroom as matsutake mushroom, which is known as the "king of edible mushrooms".
It is mainly distributed in North China and parts of Northeast China, and is mainly produced in the mountainous areas of northern Hebei Province and the mountainous areas of northwest Liaoning. The production of pine mushrooms in these two places accounts for 80% of the total domestic pine mushroom market. It has a red cap and a golden yellow stalk, which is both highly nutritious and tasteful.
Pine mushrooms are rich in copper, which is an essential micronutrient for human health. In addition, matsutake mushrooms are also rich in iron, which is good for the body's hematopoietic function.
Matsutake mushrooms are rich in fiber, which can produce a feeling of satiety, and after eating, it can stimulate the gastrointestinal tract and have a good effect on preventing constipation, hemorrhoids, etc.
Pine mushrooms are rich in protein, which helps maintain the balance of sodium and potassium, eliminates edema, improves immunity, regulates blood pressure, relieves anemia, and aids in growth and development.
In addition, matsutake mushrooms are also rich in carbohydrates, which are important substances that make up the body, which can store and provide energy, maintain energy necessary for brain function, regulate fat metabolism, provide dietary fiber, save protein, detoxify, and enhance intestinal function.
Regarding how to cook delicious matsutake mushrooms, here are a few common practices:
1.Stewed chicken. Stewing matsutake mushrooms with chicken is the most common way to eat them. Before starting, wash the matsutake mushrooms and remove the water, then wash and chop the chicken into cubes, blanch it in boiling water to remove the blood water, take it out, and put it in a soup pot. Add green onion and ginger and an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat and simmer until the chicken is soft and rotten, and then add an appropriate amount of salt to taste.
2.Stir-fry meat. Matsutake mushrooms can also be stir-fried with sliced meat, and they especially like to absorb oil, so it's best to pair them with pork belly with a higher fat content as the main ingredient. Before starting the stir-frying, the pork belly should be washed, then cut into thin slices, add an appropriate amount of cooking wine and light soy sauce and marinate for half an hour. During the pickling process, the prepared matsutake mushrooms are washed and the water is removed. Heat the oil in a wok and add garlic cloves and an appropriate amount of red pepper, stir-fry until fragrant, add the marinated pork belly, stir-fry until it changes color, and then add matsutake mushrooms and stir-fry together. During the stir-frying process, you can add light soy sauce and salt to taste, and it can be completed by stir-frying for about three or four minutes.
Regarding the time to soak the matsutake mushrooms, it is best to wash them before soaking them and rinse them several times with clean water. Then soak in warm water for one to two hours, preferably at around 30 degrees. After that, remove and put in the pot. During the brewing process, it should be noted that if cold water is used, the brewing time should be longer, about half a day, so that the taste will be better. If hot water is used, the time can be comparatively shorter and does not need to be that long. You can add a small amount of alkaline food when brewing, and the taste will be better.
After brewing, you can apply some salt to the surface and then wash it with water, which will make it cleaner, remove dust and impurities from the surface, and make it healthier. Because the surface is usually dirty, it is best to rinse it several times with clean water after brewing to make it cleaner. Alternatively, you can soak it in rice water for 15 minutes, which will make it more nutritious. When buying, it is best to choose a large pine mushroom with a diameter of about 5 10 cm, with a white or yellow-brown surface, so that the health effect is better.