Hints of mushrooms: description and methods of application of the product

Hint mushrooms are bright representatives of the stropharia family, which are cultivated and widely used in some Asian countries (Japan and China). Translated from Latin, their name sounds like “edible flake”, and the red-headed forest inhabitants fully justify it.

Detailed description

Outwardly, mushrooms hint very much like honey mushrooms, of which there are so many in Russian forests. Being saprophytes, they usually grow on the stumps or trunks of fallen trees, mainly broad-leaved species. By their nature, these are heterotrophic organisms that consume ready-made organic compounds resulting from rotting plant tissues for nutrition. Mushrooms hinted at whole "families". From one base leaves several legs covered with small scales.

Their orange-brown hats with a diameter of 1-2 centimeters are covered with a gelatinous substance, similar to jelly. That is why the Japanese call them “slippery mushrooms.” Red-headed handsome men appear, as a rule, in the fall. It is at this time of the year that huge plantations can be found in the forests, where mushrooms are hinted, like buttons, scattered in glades. On an industrial scale, they are grown on farms, where wood chips are used as a nutrient medium. But the natural gifts of the forest are appreciated, of course, much higher.

Industrial blanks

A distinctive feature of the famous "Japanese mushrooms" is that they are not fresh stored for long and very quickly deteriorate. To freeze such mushrooms, unlike popular champignons, is not accepted. However, they can be found on sale outside the country. As a rule, these are hinted canned mushrooms. They are usually sold in glass or tin cans.

Most often, such mushrooms are salted, so that later they can be used to prepare various national dishes: broths, soups, snacks or salads. By consistency, the hints are very soft, which is not entirely familiar to European consumers. But the Japanese, it is this quality, along with the natural “slipperyness” that they value most in such mushrooms. Those who do not like these characteristics can buy pickled hints in stores. They are sold, as a rule, packaged in cans of 640 grams. Such mushrooms do not require additional heat treatment. They can immediately be added to the salad or used as an original additive and decoration for various snacks at the same time.

Chinese style soup

How can an ordinary Russian use homemade hinted mushrooms at home? Recipes, for example, traditional Chinese cuisine are completely unusual for us. Nevertheless, it is worth trying to cook a simple, but very tasty national noodle soup. For the work you will need the following ingredients: 200 grams of canned hint and the same amount of Brussels sprouts, 1 stalk of leek, 100 grams of noodles (rice, wheat or egg), half a glass of soy sauce, a handful of chopped green onions, a teaspoon of starch (corn or potato) , 50 grams of tofu, a little black pepper, a slice of chili pepper, 15-20 grams of vegetable and a teaspoon of sesame oil.

The dish is cooked very quickly:

1. First, all the components of the soup must be prepared. To do this, you need to wash the cabbage and, after removing the stalks, cut each head of cabbage into 4 parts. Chop leek into rings and tofu into cubes. After that, you can proceed to the main process.
2. Boil the mushrooms for 5 minutes in boiling water.
3. Pour sesame oil into the pan and lightly fry leek in it.
4. Send Brussels sprouts there and wait until a golden crust appears on it.
5. Add mushrooms, peppers and fry the products together for 3 minutes.
6. At this time, you need to boil the noodles. To do this, you can use water in which hinted.
7. Transfer the finished noodles to the pan, add the sauce, herbs and cook for another 2 minutes.
8. In 100 grams of water, dilute starch with 2 tablespoons of sauce, and then pour the prepared mixture into a saucepan.
9. Add the remaining ingredients and cook another 2 minutes.

Ready soup in a plate can be decorated with greens or sesame seeds. It turns out quite unusual, but very tasty.

Wonderful snack

Where else in everyday life can you use hinted canned mushrooms? Salad recipes with them do not differ much from the options familiar to our people. One of them requires the presence of products such as 300 grams of canned mushrooms, an egg, a small onion, vegetable oil, a tablespoon of vinegar (or mayonnaise).

Preparation of such a dish takes only a few minutes:

1. First you need to boil the egg.
2. At this time, you can cut the onions and open a jar of mushrooms. Those who don’t like slippery hints can boil them first. In this case, the mucus will go into the decoction, and the mushrooms will remain soft and fragrant.
3. Collect all components in a salad bowl and mix well. If mayonnaise is used as a dressing, then vegetable oil is no longer needed.

If the dish is prepared for the festive table, then it can be served in improvised plates made from the peel of exotic fruits, or spread on lettuce leaves. Such an unusual approach to the question of serving should definitely please the guests.