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Wood Ears and Cucumber Salad

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
By itself, wood ears don't have a lot of flavor. It is their light crunchiness that makes them so good. But wood ears have the ability to soak up the flavors of ingredients they are mixed with. So, with the proper seasonings, wood ears become a gustatory delight.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Cooling time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 people
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups fresh wood ears trimmed
  • 1 cucumber

Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
  • 1 heaping tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 to 2 bird's eye chilies thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup sliced scallions (white and light green portions only)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Cut the trimmed wood ears into half-inch wide slices.
  • Boil abut four cups water in a pot, drop in the wood ears and cook for a minute.
  • Pour the wood ears into a strainer and leave to allow excess water to drip off.
  • Cut the cucumber into halves vertically, scrape off the seeds and discard.
  • Thinly slice the cucumber.
  • Pour the sesame seed oil into a small pan and heat.
  • Add the sesame seeds and spread so that every piece touches the hot oil.
  • Cook over medium heat for about 20 seconds or until one or two pieces pop (they will likely fly out of the pan).
  • Add the scallions and chilies, stir and cook for half a minute.
  • Sprinkle in the sugar.
  • Pour in the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.
  • Cook until bubbly and the sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Cool the dressing for about ten minutes.
  • Place the wood ears and cucumber slices in a mixing bowl.
  • Pour in the dressing, toss and serve.

Notes

If using dried wood ears, you'll need a cup which has to be soaked in warm water for an hour or so before trimming and cutting.
The wood ears and cucumber salad can be kept in the fridge overnight in a covered container. The flavors deepen even more after the wood ears soak up as much of the dressing as they are able.
Updated from a recipe originally published in 10/15/2017
Keyword Mushrooms