Snow fungus or bai mu er is good for you, my friend Iris Koh told me when she used to make and bring this dessert for me in our editorial office. This can be eaten hot, warm or cold, in sugared water or tong shui, the term to describe Cantonese sweet soups. This fungi has no flavor of its own; we eat it purely for its crunchy texture.
Back 30-40 years ago, preparing snow fungus or tremella fungus was painstaking. You had to soak it overnight to soften it and then trim and clean away the hardier and dirty bits. The industry has modernized and packaged dried snow fungus is so clean today it’s ready for use with very little extra work. They even have them in compressed, tiny blocks. (Below, second photo.)
Today, you still have to soak the dried snow fungus. I don’t even soak it overnight. Two loose clusters or one compressed block will bloom a whole bowl of snow fungus. There are only very small bits of hardy parts that need to be clipped off. Sometimes, it doesn’t need trimming when it is very clean. Don’t be put off by my stated prep time. I’ve recorded it as one hour only because it takes about 45-60 minutes to soak the dried snow fungus to reconstitute it. After that, all you do it put it in the pot and boil it.
Here in Virginia, I purchase tremella in Asian stores. Look for it near the aisle selling dried mushroom.
Snow fungus may be boiled with other dried ingredients like lotus seed, persimmon, longans and red dates at the start; and fresh fruit and sweet potato at the end of cooking. Pandan leaves may be added to give the syrup fragrance.
Chilled, crunchy snow fungus in a light syrup is very refreshing. The warm version is very soothing. They say it’s a remedy for dry throat.
Snow Fungus Sweet Soup
Serves 8-10
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 45 minutes
2 clumps of snow fungus, about ¾ ounce
1 quart hot water for soaking
3 or 4 pandan leaves, rinsed and tied in a knot (optional)
8 pieces dried red dates, rinsed (optional)
2 quarts water
½ cup rock sugar, about 3-4 ounces
Garnish
¼ cup roasted pine nuts (optional)
Soak snow fungus in hot water for at least 1 hour. When softened, trim beige, hardy parts on the underside of the fungus with a pair of scissors. This may not be necessary. Rinse snow fungus by squeezing it gently like a sponge. Discard water and rinse another two times.
Place snow fungus, pandan leaves, dates and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Then simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove pandan leaves, add rock sugar and simmer for another 15 minutes. Test taste for sweetness and adjust accordingly. Use kitchen scissors to cut snow fungus into about 10 pieces to be divvied up. Sprinkle roasted pine nuts into the dessert soup when serving. Serve hot, or chill and serve cold.
Variations
Different ingredients
These ingredients go well with snow fungus dessert. Use any one or a selection of them.
–Add 10-12 lotus seeds. Split seed in half if you wish to remove the green, bitter shoot inside. Otherwise, leave whole. Rinse lotus seeds quickly and add with snow fungus and other ingredients at the start of cooking.
–Add a handful of wolfberry seeds. Rinse and add midway through cooking snow fungus soup and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
–Add 15-20 cooked ginkgo nuts at end of cooking. Cooked ginkgo nuts are sold canned or frozen. If using shelled ginkgo nuts, crack shell with a pestle or hammer to remove nut. Blanch nuts in hot water so skin peels off easily. Discard skin. Add uncooked ginkgo nut with snow fungus midway through cooking.
–Add ¼ cup dried, shelled longan, rinsed, to snow fungus dessert soup towards last 15 minutes of cooking.
–Add 10 peeled, hard-boiled quail’s eggs. This may sound odd but we often put egg in dessert soups. Add to hot dessert when serving.
Banquet Presentation
Plating Snow Fungus Dessert
–Chill Snow Fungus Dessert and serve in a large tureen. Add one can of chilled lychees or rambutans, including syrup, to tureen.
–Serve Snow Fungus Dessert in small decorative bowls or tall V-shape glasses with long, ice-cream spoons. Cut the snow fungus into smaller pieces so each glass has equal portions. These would look good when cooked with red date or wolfberry.
–Serve Snow Fungus Dessert over shaved ice. Or top with shaved ice. If planning to do this, increase the amount of sugar by 2 ounces.
Glossary for Ingredients
Click here for more on:
Snow fungus
Pandan leaves
Red date
Rock sugar
