China News Agency, Kunming, July 12th, title: Yunnan mushroom feast: the taste of the world, the taste of the forest

  China News Agency reporter Hu Yuanhang

  "As soon as the rainy season arrives, all the bacteria come out, and the air is full of the smell of bacteria." The famous contemporary Chinese writer Wang Zengqi described Yunnan at this time.

He once lived in Kunming for seven years, and after 40 years away, he still "does not forget the fungus in Kunming".

  With the arrival of the rainy season, large and small markets in Yunnan are filled with the moist atmosphere of soil and forests.

In the Kunming Shuimuhua wild mushroom trading market, more than 100 tons of wild mushrooms have been shipped to all parts of China every day recently, and even appeared in French restaurants and Japanese restaurants overseas.

The picture shows on June 29, Kunming, Yunnan, French chef Vincent is busy in the kitchen.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Jiaxian

  Yunnan, the well-deserved "Kingdom of Wild Mushrooms".

About 900 kinds of wild edible mushrooms are produced here, accounting for 36% of the world's wild edible mushroom species and 90% of the national total. It is also the main producing area of ​​world-class rare and precious wild mushrooms and truffles.

  In the 1930s, during the war against Japan, the Southwest Associated University, consisting of three universities, namely Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University, moved to Yunnan, which also facilitated the "meeting" of more than 1,000 teachers and students with wild mushrooms in Yunnan.

In the article "Seven Years of Yunyan·Caiwei", Wang Zengqi once quipped, "The world's most delicious dry bacteria, the world's greedy college students".

The picture shows the staff of a wild mushroom hotpot restaurant handling wild mushrooms in an open kitchen in Kunming, Yunnan on July 11.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Jiaxian

  The string song does not stop, and there is joy in the bitterness.

The famous writer who studied at the Southwest Associated University wrote in his essay many years later that no matter how difficult the conditions were, the dining hall of the Southwest Associated University would also fry a pot of porcini mushrooms in due course.

The "strong and strong taste" of the blue-headed fungus, "the most delicious taste in the world", the "king of the fungus" chicken fir and the "fantastic" chanterelles have always lingered in his mind.

  In Chinese food culture, wild mushrooms are an important component of "mountain treasures".

But in Yunnan, mountain delicacy is just a home-cooked taste.

  The cooking techniques are mostly single frying, the varieties are not mixed, and the ingredients are often only a little dried pepper, garlic slices and salt.

Mushroom slices should be thinly sliced, and then stir-fried in heavy oil over low heat.

In addition, there are popular practices such as boiling, frying, stewing, and stuffing, as well as ethnic minority practices such as pounding and cold salad.

  Out-of-town diners often love the hodgepodge-style "mushroom hot pot".

All the bacteria are salty, and they all jump into the chicken, goose and sheep soup.

In order to avoid the temptation to set the chopsticks in advance, the boss usually waits 15 minutes for the pot to cook before placing the chopsticks.

The picture shows people enjoying wild mushroom hot pot in Kunming, Yunnan on July 11.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Jiaxian

  Deep-fried, the chicken fir is the most recommended.

The texture of the chicken bone is delicate. Once the oil temperature is high, the surface shrinks rapidly, locking the moisture inside the fungus, and at the same time amplifying the fragrance. It is fresh, sweet and crispy.

Yang Shen, the first of the "Three Great Talents" in the Ming Dynasty, once wrote a poem in praise of chicken fir during his exile in Yunnan: "The wind blows the jade at sea, and the woodcutter boy is asleep without knowing it. The immortal man lives near Huayang Cave and has one or two Qiongying branches. ."

  Nowadays, during the mushroom season, chefs and gourmets from all over the world come to hide in the mountains to hunt, collect and cook mushrooms.

The fusion and collision of different food cultures also endows the mushroom feast with more meanings.

  33-year-old French chef Vincent runs a western restaurant in Kunming.

Yunnan’s wild mushrooms are always in his recipes: morels are delicious and fragrant “Q bombs”, suitable for pasta; chanterelles are fresh with a touch of apricot aroma, paired with veal ribs; fresh and sweet chicken fir Oiled, wrapped in dough, made into "Fried Chicken Chiabata Bread"...

The picture shows on June 29, Kunming, Yunnan, French chef Vincent is making "Fried Chicken and Chiabata Bread".

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Jiaxian

  "The traditional ciabatta bread is added to Yunnan's unique oil chicken fir, and it has a sweet taste and special fragrance, which makes people more addicted to chewing." Vincent said that he enjoyed this strange "combination of local and foreign" very much. , the collision between China and the West".

  Local chefs have also developed many new dishes by absorbing Japanese sashimi, Western food, pan-fried, grilled and other diverse practices.

The "Sealed Fried Boletus" created by Liu Xin, the famous inheritor of Yunnan cuisine, is a must.

This dish is simmered in Chinese style to consolidate the soul, and the goose oil is sealed and fried for refreshment, without any seasoning, just to highlight the crispness, tenderness and sweetness of the porcini itself.

The picture shows on June 29, Kunming, Yunnan, French chef Vincent is making morels.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Jiaxian

  In 2021, the output value of edible fungi in Yunnan will exceed 16 billion yuan, and it will be exported to more than 40 countries and regions such as France, the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

Thanks to the efforts of scientific research institutions such as the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a number of strains such as Morchella and Mushroom have been artificially cultivated, which has also helped more local people on the road to prosperity.

  "Every change is inseparable from its origin." In Liu Xin's view, picking mushrooms, cooking mushrooms, and eating mushrooms actually pursues a Chinese-style aesthetic and taste.

All kinds of tastes, a thousand kinds of life, "just to return to the mountains and forests, Taoism is natural".

(Finish)