Straw mushroom
The straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea), cultivated on rice straw and picked at the egg stage while the cap is still wrapped in its veil; outside Asia it is mostly sold canned. Halved or cross-cut and blanched to shed its grassy note, it gives quick soups and winter melon tureens a slippery bite and gentle savour; it is never eaten raw.
TCM properties
Nature · cold Flavour · sweet Meridians · spleen、stomach
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy straw mushroom is regarded as cooling, used in summer soups to clear heat and refresh while gently supporting qi.
Cautions: read first
- Not to be eaten in quantity if your spleen and stomach run cold and weak.
- People with gout should take care (mushrooms carry purines).
- Fairly high in potassium, so people with low blood pressure or kidney disease should take note.
- Fresh straw mushrooms should not be eaten raw.
Preparation
Score fresh straw mushrooms with a cross or cut them in half, blanch them (飛水, a quick dip in boiling water) to take off the grassy smell, then add them to the soup.
Origin
Shaoguan, Guangdong, where cultivation was first taken up at Nanhua Temple, hence the names Nanhua mushroom and Guangdong mushroom. Fresh straw mushrooms are rarely retailed in AU; canned is the ordinary Asian-grocer line
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
