Most Yunnan mushrooms are wild and so foraged. They can be rather rare and seasonable and therefore on the pricy side but price also vary widely with the season and the harvest.
One of the more common is 鸡纵菌 (jī zòng jūn), chicken mushrooms, umbrella mushrooms and sometimes termite mushrooms. The latter name is important , but somewhat misleading, in that there are many species called that. The Termitomyces family to which they all belong contains 52 types. The importance lies in that they grow in a symbiotic relationship with termites. In other words, they feed each other.
They grow in Yunnan, but also in Guizhou and here in Guangxi on termite mounds in the mountain areas.
It is said that there are seven varieties in Yunnan. I have access to these three.
This 👆 is known just as chicken mushroom as it is the most common.
These 👆 are 'torch chicken mushrooms'.
And these 👆 are open umbrella mushrooms, Termitomyces albuminosus. Care must be taken when foraging these as they can easily be mistaken for Chlorophyllum molybdites, which are poisonous and can causes potentially serious vomiting and diarrhea. They are the most consumed poisonous mushroom in North America.
All these are simply fried, often with ham, and often used in soups where they can take long cooking. Some people think they taste like chicken; others like enoki mushrooms. I’m in the middle. I find that mildly sweet with a slightly crunch texture
黑皮鸡枞菌, black skin chicken mushrooms are a related cultivated variety which are more widely available in recent years.
