The healthy forager

Oh my goodness. I’ve just gone through a flavour and texture sensation that was truly epic. I found Chicken of the Wood!

For several months now, I’ve been seeing my foraging friends in England post pictures of this lovely species on Facebook. Despite looking everywhere in Aberdeenshire, so far it had remained elusive. Until last night… I was just walking my ‘fake commute’, but a different route to normal, when I spotted this beautiful collection of yellow growing out of a cherry tree – in someone’s front garden… So I rang the doorbell… I was met by a genuinely friendly guy who offered me even a bag and a knife to get the mushrooms off.

I was walking home on a happy cloud, thinking what I might cook. Initially I just panfried some in strips to get an idea of the texture and flavour. Then today I added them to a stir fry with ginger, garlic, cucumber, onion, Shaoxing wine and soy sauce.

The texture is just so wonderful, like tender meat that has been cooked to perfection. It absorbs flavours well, so I’m going to experiment with perhaps some spices. The foraging continues!