The honey mushrooms are from Daxinganling (大兴安岭) in China's Heilongjiang province. It is a forested area on the border with Russia. The annual average temperature is minus 2.8C (27F)and in the long winters gets as low as minus 40C (minus 40F). Summer is a mere two months long. The area is known for its mushrooms and other wild foods.
When soaking, the mushrooms have a distinct earthy smell, but the taste is more subtle. Not so pronounced as cèpes, but up there with morels and chanterelles.
I've used them in stews with chicken, in a mixed mushroom stir fry and had them in soups.
Here is what happens when I soak the compressed block in hot water.
And the final reconstituted mushrooms.
