Chapter 833 849: Black Tiger Paw Fungus
Yang Chunyan thought that this forest might be deserted because few people came to pick mushrooms. After walking a few steps, she saw several yellow bald head mushrooms, whose caps were bigger than her palm, huddled together for a meeting.
She walked forward, spread out her five fingers, and tapped the cap of a yellow bald mushroom a few times. The cap made a "bang bang" sound from her tapping. As long as you hear this crisp sound, you know that the mushroom is not damaged at all even if you don't pull it out.
With a "click", Fatty Huang was pulled up. Yang Chunyan felt that this sound was more healing than the best music.
After pulling up the other few, looking at the plump and yellow mushrooms on the ground, the joy of having just two of the fine mushrooms to eat a meal is indescribable.
His eyes scanned like a radar, and a large handful of green shiitake mushrooms, a dozen or so mushrooms gathered in a circle, and a handful of fine chanterelles were gently put into the backpack.
Turning my head, I saw a large matsutake mushroom with its umbrella opened suddenly appearing before my eyes under a small bush nearby.
Yang Chunyan looked at the matsutake mushroom whose cap had already unfolded and sighed distressedly, "Oh! It's so big, I wish I had come earlier."
The opened matsutake mushrooms do not look good to wear, but they are still good to eat by yourself. When people in the mountains pick up matsutake mushrooms, they sell the unopened tender buds and keep the opened ones for themselves.
It was a little difficult to tie up because it was so big. Yang Chunyan pulled out a lot of weeds before tying it up and put it in the backpack. In just over ten minutes, she found two Matsutake mushrooms.
In later times, those villagers who went up the mountain to look for matsutake mushrooms would get up early in the morning and walk from the foot of the mountain to the top, but might not find many.
People in those days were simple-minded. When they went into the mountains to pick mushrooms, they only picked the good ones. Those that were too small or of poor quality were left in the mountains. Later generations would pick them up whenever they saw them, no matter how big or small.
There are fewer and fewer mushrooms left, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to pick them!
There are surprises everywhere. As soon as I pried up the umbrella opener, I found a little fat flower next to it. It pushed aside the thick fallen leaves, revealing its chubby round head, which was very pleasing to the eye.
He pulled out a handful of weeds and tied up the fat boy, then continued to move forward. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he saw a bunch of black tiger paw mushrooms standing under a clump of trees. The mushrooms were flat and wide, with large dark-brown scales all over their surface.
"Bah, another bunch of good mushrooms." Yang Chunyan walked forward in surprise, only to find that there was more than one bunch, there were three or four nests nearby.
The largest one was bigger than her head. She patted the cap of the mushroom happily and pulled it up. It felt heavy in her hand. This mushroom must have weighed at least two or three kilograms.
Yang Chunyan thought that old tiger's paw mushrooms are bitter, but when she saw that they were tender, she was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth. "Haha, one mushroom can be fried into a big dish!"
Black tiger palm mushroom is also called deer mushroom, maybe because it looks ugly, some people also call it Zhong Kui mushroom. This mushroom is mild in nature and sweet in taste, and has the effects of chasing away wind and cold, relaxing muscles and activating blood circulation.
The cap is fleshy and has a raised protrusion at first, which then becomes flat after growing. The body of the fungus is covered with fine light yellowish brown hairs, similar to the pattern of tiger fur, and after drying, it looks like a tiger's claw.
The flesh of the black tiger's paw mushroom is nearly white, with a strong aroma and a tender taste. It has been regarded as a precious mountain delicacy since very early in history and has been one of the favorite tributes of the imperial courts of all dynasties.
Dried tiger paw mushrooms have a strong aroma and can repel insects, so in some places people put some black tiger paw mushrooms in rice and flour to repel insects. There is also a saying among the people that "tiger paw mushrooms can be eaten with vegetables for three days without going bad."
The aroma of black tiger's paw mushrooms becomes more intense after being dried, and it is very similar to shiitake mushrooms when used to stew local chicken mushroom soup.
Yang Chunyan pulled up all the tiger paw mushrooms and continued to search in the bushes with the backpack. Dahei was a little unhappy after being tied up, but he still obediently stood guard for her.
This patch of low shrubs growing on the hillside made her eyes brighten again and again. After walking a dozen steps, she found a bulge in the rotten soil under the roots of the tree. She walked forward and carefully dug up the soil a little, and then she saw a round, fat head.
After looking up, she felt that the previous one was not the best, and this one was the best. She felt a little funny in her heart, and thought that if she finished searching this area, the best and the best records might be constantly refreshed.
Dahei didn't understand what she was so happy about. It was just a few mushrooms. How could it be as exciting as chasing wild animals!
I pressed down all the rotten soil nearby and found another one just one step away. I also picked up more than a dozen morels in an area the size of a palm, all of which were buds.
Yang Chunyan looked at the sky and thought that it would be great if it could rain a little tonight. If she came early tomorrow morning, it would definitely be a big hit!
Zhou Huaian packed up the black goat and looked around for Dahei before he realized she was squatting there picking up mushrooms. "Yan'er, did you find a few matsutake mushrooms?"
"Three buds, two large matsutake mushrooms with umbrellas open." Yang Chunyan put the brush mushrooms in her backpack and picked up the black tiger palm mushroom that was bigger than her head. "It's a very big one, I found it in front!"
"An Yi! This one flower is enough for the three of us to have a meal." Zhou Huaian said, and then he looked into the basket and saw that there were more than a dozen flowers in it. "We are really lucky. Let's look around and pick up some more to dry and eat slowly."
"What good stuff did you find?" Zhou Yiding came over, wiping his hands. He saw that the basket was already filled with a lot of stuff. "Matsutake, black tiger's paw mushroom, morel, bigfoot mushroom, yellow bald head mushroom... It's a good harvest!"
"Compared to the foot of the mountain, there are a lot of big-foot mushrooms and yellow bald head mushrooms, but there are fewer matsutake mushrooms!" Yang Chunyan paused, "Have you cleaned up the black goat?"
Zhou Huaian nodded. "Just now, when Yiding and I were cleaning the mulberry leaves by the ditch below, we saw a lot of rhubarb growing by the ditch, as well as some wild animal feces. It looked a bit like musk deer. Let's go back first and come back early tomorrow to pick mushrooms and hunt wild animals."
Yang Chunyan smiled and joked: "Not bad, now we can even separate the feces of forest musk deer!"
"Uncle Xia told me that, but I don't know if it's true." Zhou Huaian said, smiling and picking up the backpack, "Let's go!"
The three of them returned to the backpack guarded by Dahuang. Zhou Yiding fed Dahei the wild goat heart and lungs that he had reserved for him. After he had eaten, he picked up the backpack and walked back.
Zhou Yiding said, "Youngest brother, many wild animals like to come out early in the morning. Let's go up the mountain half an hour earlier tomorrow."
Zhou Huaian: "That's great! Even if we can't kill the musk deer, we can still bring back two black goats!"
Zhou Yiding: "There are two now. Send one to Brother Huang and another to Master Li. Give some of the meat of the four-legged beast to Doctor Xiao Wang and not to them."
"Okay!" Zhou Huaian looked back and felt a little sorry that Dahei and Dahuang had not tracked down the old bear.
Yang Chunyan thought for a moment and said, "Huaian, we have been out for two days, and Xiao Jiuer is still crying like crazy. I'd better go down the mountain tomorrow morning. You and Yiding should be careful when you come here tomorrow."
"I'm worried about you going down the mountain alone. How about we go back together the day after tomorrow?" Zhou Huaian said worriedly.
Yang Chunyan hadn't seen her son for two days and was worried that he couldn't find them and would cry. "It's okay, I'll wait until dawn before going down the mountain. Didn't Xuejiao go up and down the mountain alone before?"
"Sister-in-law, I always sent Xuejiao out of the woods before letting her go down the mountain alone." Zhou Yiding said, turning his head to look at Zhou Huaian, "Youngest brother, how about we send sister-in-law halfway this morning and then come back up the mountain?"
Zhou Huaian nodded, "My wife is more important. Get up half an hour earlier and send her out of the forest. We'll come back later."
After the three of them had discussed it, they hurried back.
The path in the pine forest that Zhou Daqing and his companions had trampled when they went up the mountain to dig truffles was already covered with some withered wild grass. They went down two ridges and rested several times along the way. It was almost seven o'clock when they returned to the forest farm.
It was too late to stew the pheasant and roast the lamb intestines and tripe, so Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding put the mutton and tripe in the cave behind the house and came back to skin the badger pig.
Yang Chunyan left two opened matsutake mushrooms and the largest black tiger mushroom, put the other mushrooms in the cave, and went back to the kitchen to start cooking.
After the rice was put into the pot, he added a piece of firewood into the stove, took a knife to scrape the mud off the two matsutake mushrooms and the black tiger's paw mushroom, and put them in a colander.
After filtering the rice and steaming it in the rice steamer, I went to the yard to pick a handful of green and red peppers and a handful of green onions, and then washed the mushrooms.
Tear the black tiger's paw mushroom into small pieces, slice the stems of the matsutake mushrooms, tear the mushroom caps into small pieces by hand, cut small pieces of ham and stir-fry, add hot water, bring to a boil and pour into the casserole, then put the cut matsutake slices into the casserole.
After boiling over high heat, she opened the lid of the sand pot, and the kitchen was filled with the aroma of mushrooms. Thinking that ham is salty, Yang Chunyan scooped a little salt with a spoon and put it in the sand pot, covered it with the lid and cooked it on low heat.
A small piece of smoked blackened fat bacon is washed with hot water and sliced. The green and red peppers are cut into dice and the garlic is cut into slices. After everything is done, the rice in the rice steamer is also steamed.
Yang Chunyan brought the rice steamer to the stove and started to stir-fry black tiger's paw mushrooms. After refining the oil from the bacon, she poured in some rapeseed oil. After stir-frying for a few times, she added the half-fat and half-lean bacon and stir-fried it for a few times. Then she poured in the tiger's paw mushrooms and stir-fried them quickly.
It’s so good to cook in a big pot. The water from the black tiger’s paw mushrooms is dried up in a few stir-frys. Add the green and red peppers and garlic slices into the pot and stir-fry for a few times. Sprinkle a little salt and stir-fry for a few more times before serving.
The matsutake soup in the casserole was ready. Pour it into a ceramic bowl, sprinkle some chopped green onions and serve it on the table. Just as he was about to call Zhou Huaian and the others to eat, Zhou Huaian came into the kitchen with badger lard.
"Yan'er, after dinner, refine the oil and put it in a can. When you go down the mountain, bring it down to Third Brother and ask him to take it to Master Li. He told me about it last year, but he still hasn't found it."
"I've remembered that!" Yang Chunyan served the meal and called Zhou Yiding from outside. After he came in, the three of them sat down and started eating.
After walking for an entire afternoon, the three were already very tired. They ate up all the rice in the rice steamer, the fresh and delicious matsutake soup in the full earthenware bowl, and the fragrant and tender tiger's paw mushrooms on the large plate.
Dahei and Dahuang ate the badger pig's heart and no longer needed to be fed. They just lay obediently in the yard to watch over the house.
(End of this chapter)
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