MICKEY MOUSE AND BLACK FUNGUS

Many Pinoy kids who encounter their first black fungus mixed with their pancit will be told that it's tenga ng daga or  rat's ear. That's according to Nanay Juaning, our four-foot yaya  and cook who loved to tell tall tales. I believed her. Horrors! I imagined Mickey Mouse getting his ears cut off in the palengke (wet market) and decided not to eat it for a few years until my genius cousin told me they were actually mushrooms.

Don't take my ears of, please!

This gelatinous black-brown delicacy is Auricularia polytricha or cloud ear fungus that grows in clusters on rotting branches and twigs and on decaying stumps and logs in wet areas. It's called wood ear or tree ear by the Chinese, the Japanese describe it as "rough-haired tree jelly" and the Hawaiians call it pepeiao which roughly means "ears."

The woody mushroom is harvested and dried before it is sold in the market, usually by the kilo. I found this 25 gram packet in the supermarket, just about the size of a matchbox.

Rat's ears in a box

Before cooking, the dried mushroom must be re-hydrated by soaking in water for about 30 minutes. You know it's ready when the fungus expands, turns soft and takes on a translucent, jelly-like appearance. You can use hot water (boiling, even) to lessen the soak time to 15 minutes. Remember to cut off the woody parts and slice the bigger pieces. The small packet will give about a plateful, just enough for one dish of stir-fried noodles or stew.

When cooked, despite the gelatinous texture, it remains crunchy like cartilage (almost like pig's ears) and there's a small snap when you bite into it.  Like any mushroom, generally remains slightly woody, but takes on a slight hint of the sauce that it gets cooked in.

And please, don't tell the kids it's Mickey ears.

Boys! Boys! or How to Make a Meal Out of Martian Brains

Halloween was never an occassion celebrated by my family as I was growing up.

My first and only Halloween Trick or Treat experience was around ten years back when my then ten-year old baby bro' Angelo and his friend Bernard decided they would try their hand at amassing sweet treats from Bernard's neighbors in a gated community in Marikina. 

   Angelo and Bernard then...

Bernard's dad, Chito, and myself played costume master and mistress, borrowing Roman soldier costumes ---complete with toga, helmets and sandals--- from another friend,. When the boys went out in their costumes, Chito and I realized that we had just dressed two boys in flimsy white skirts, something that they'd probably never forgive us for when the pictures resurface via Facebook.

A few hours later, the boys returned with a bagful of candies, plastic toys and unhappy faces. Apparently, they realized that the homes they visited towards the end of their Hallow's Eve jaunt were already having supper.  And when they were handed their treats, they were disappointed  because the tired and hungry boys wanted to be gifted with rice and adobo instead of sweets!

They are now both in the cusp of adulthood and are on the brink of facing the truths of life that turn boys into men. But Angelo and Bernard will probably always be those pre-pubescent boys in my eyes.

   ...Angelo and Bernard today.

Here's a Halloween recipe for the boys...

Martian Brain Noodles

Ingredients:

1.5 kg Malunggay pansit

1 cup pork,  sliced into thin 1 inch lengths

1 cup Pork or chicken liver, cut into ¼ inch cubes

1 cup Chinese sausage, cut into ¼ inch circles

1 cup Shrimp, shelled, deveined and halved

1 cup tenga ng daga, softened and cut into 1 inch long strips

1 ½  cups Squash, cut into 1 inch high triangles

250 grams tofu

500 grams wombok

4 ½  cups water

3 tbsps soy sauce

1 tbsp Kutchai, minced

1 tbsp garlic, finely minced

1 cup onion, finely minced

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 shrimp bouillon cube

Salt and pepper to taste

Place pork in ½ cup water and add a dash of salt. Allow water to boil and the pork to become tender. When about 1 tbsp of water is left, add the Chinese sausage. Turn fire to low. Allow the remaining water to cook the sausage and bring out the oil of the pork to brown the meats.  Add cooking oil, garlic and onion. Then add the liver and tofu. Sautee until brown.

Dissolve the shrimp bouillon cube in 4 cups of water and add to the mixture when the liver is almost cooked. Add in the tenga ng daga, and squash. When the squash is slightly tender, add the shrimp and soy sauce to taste.

When the shrimp changes color, add the malunggay noodles and mix gently. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix gently for five minutes, making sure to evenly distribute the ingredients and keep the noodles moist.

To serve,put a helping of the noodles in a bowl and mold. turn over to a plate and garnish with vegetables.

ha