Straw Mushroom

Also known asPaddy Straw Mushroom · Volvariella volvacea · 草菇

Name: Straw mushroom, also called paddy straw mushroom or cao gu (Volvariella volvacea) — a small, egg-shaped, grey-brown mushroom that grows on decaying rice straw in warm, humid regions. It is sold fresh, canned and dried.

Description

Straw mushrooms have been cultivated in China for around 300 years, and are one of the main edible mushrooms of tropical and subtropical Asia, where rice straw is abundant. They grow quickly, in just a few days, in hot, humid conditions, and are picked while still closed, at the “button” or egg stage.

They have a mild, slightly earthy flavour and a tender, smooth, slippery texture, and are used in Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Filipino cooking, especially in soups such as tom yum, and in stir-fries and curries. Fresh straw mushrooms are fragile and spoil within a day or two, so most outside Asia are sold canned.

Main nutrition value

Straw mushrooms provide protein, B vitamins, potassium, copper and fibre, for very few calories.

How best to be consumed

Straw mushrooms are mild, and absorb the flavours around them.

1. Add canned or fresh straw mushrooms to tom yum, hot and sour soup and curries.
2. Stir-fry with vegetables, garlic and oyster sauce.
3. Rinse canned mushrooms well to remove the briny liquid.
4. Halve large mushrooms, and cook fresh ones quickly.
5. Use fresh mushrooms within a day, and cook them thoroughly.

Overconsumption could cause…

Straw mushrooms are safe when cooked.

1. Allergic reactions or digestive upset in some people, and stomach discomfort from the fibre (chitin) and sugars in mushrooms in large servings.
2. Digestive upset from eating mushrooms raw, since cooking breaks down their tough cell walls and destroys natural irritants.
3. High sodium in canned mushrooms packed in brine, so rinse well.
4. Spoilage quickly in fresh mushrooms, which must be eaten soon after harvest.

GroupsMushroomsFungi (mushrooms)Fresh

Related foodsBlack FungusChanterelle MushroomCordyceps MushroomCremini MushroomEnoki MushroomKing Oyster Mushroom

Wikipedia — Volvariella volvacea, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvariella_volvacea