Eric and Rachel Taste of the Wood Ear

Last night we had dinner with our good friend Eunice. Eunice has many friends, and many of these friends are Chinese, who were concerned about the health of her blood. Thus they introduced her to Wood Ear or 木耳, which is apparently healthful for the blood in the Chinese tradition. Without going into detail, it seems to be working out for Eunice in a rather impressive manner.

Though our blood has no issues (that we know of), Eunice decided to make us some of her healthy Wood Ear Soup last night. This is some kind of fungus, sold in a dehydrated form, that blooms out with rehydration, and is then added to whatever dish, and apparently can be eaten with sugar as a dessert (which kind of freaks me out). We had it in a soup with a beef base, tofu, and celery. We have joined the ranks of the Wood Ear Eaters, and boy, do we feel energized!

What does it taste like? Not much, really. It tasted like beef broth. It's more of a texture issue. Imagine a shitake mushroom, but surprisingly sort of crunchy, like not-quite-cooked celery.