Mushrooms in Chinese Cooking

[SuzySushi]

Don't feel bad... the bugs (or rather the larvae) were most likely in the shiitake when you bought them. EEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWWW!!! It happens sometimes.

Just throw them out and get another batch... maybe not from the same market or brand.

[Ben Hong]

I have had that happen on a couple of occasions. My suggestion is to throw a newly purchased bag into the freezer for a couple of days and then store in an airtight container, OR just leave them in the freezer.

[hzrt8w]

"Dry" is the key in keeping the, duh..., dry ingredients for long. Tiny amount of moisture... either they will start turn mouldy or insects will lay eggs in them. Inspect your newly bought dried mushrooms. They should be dry to the touch and hard. If they feel soft, beware. You can lay them out under the bright sun for a day to dry them up. Store in air-tight glass jars is the best.

If the dried mushrooms feel mooshy... they are already gone.

[Gastro888]

Maybe it's the weather that affected my shiitakes. It's been quite crazy here in the city - hot, cold, rainy, windy, humid all in one week! My mom's always kept her shiitakes in a bag and never had any problem. I do remember that she'll sun her mushrooms every so often.

I guess I'll have to get another batch and then sun them. Ack, damn bugs.

So wait, if the eggs were in the mushrooms when I purchased them that means that I probably ate the damn larvae the last time I had the shiitakes. Gross.

[rooftop1000]

Maybe it's the weather that affected my shiitakes.  It's been quite crazy here in the city - hot, cold, rainy, windy, humid all in one week!  My mom's always kept her shiitakes in a bag and never had any problem.  I do remember that she'll sun her mushrooms every so often. 

I guess I'll have to get another batch and then sun them.  Ack, damn bugs. 

So wait, if the eggs were in the mushrooms when I purchased them that means that I probably ate the damn larvae the last time I had the shiitakes.  Gross.

←

My girl scout leader always told us bugs were just Extra Protein

tracey

[rooftop1000]

double

Edited May 2, 2007 by rooftop1000 (log)

[jo-mel]

Maybe it's the weather that affected my shiitakes.  It's been quite crazy here in the city - hot, cold, rainy, windy, humid all in one week!  My mom's always kept her shiitakes in a bag and never had any problem.  I do remember that she'll sun her mushrooms every so often. 

I guess I'll have to get another batch and then sun them.  Ack, damn bugs. 

So wait, if the eggs were in the mushrooms when I purchased them that means that I probably ate the damn larvae the last time I had the shiitakes.  Gross.

←

My girl scout leader always told us bugs were just Extra Protein

tracey

←

Extra protein! LOL! That's what I said one time during a cooking class. A spider dropped right down, from an overhead light, to right above a wok when I was stirfrying something!!

About the mushrooms, one time I saw some flying pantry moths in the jar that housed my dried mushrooms. It was after that , that I read about bay leaves keeping pantry moths at bay. (play on words, there) Sounds like you have a different bug, tho. As Ben said, freezing dried stuff usually kills anything that has come with the drys. 24 to 48 hours should do the trick.