SEASON OF MUSHROOMS

Traditional and fusion cooking styles, regional and international ingredients and a new awareness of healthy eating are all factors contributing to an exciting time for Chinese cuisine. Pauline D Loh explores the possibilities.

An ingredient closely associated with Chinese cuisine is the dried mushroom, intensely fragrant and instantly recognizable.

Oddly enough, it is soft, spongy and a lot less aromatic when fresh, but the dehydration process concentrates its flavors and turns it into a hard, shriveled, easily stored pantry basic - even if it does look like it has been mummified in the process.