Enoki Mushrooms

Known as winter mushrooms or golden needles, these long, thin, delicate mushrooms grow all year round in wild clusters. Eaten commonly in East Asian countries such as China, Japan and Vietnam, from where they originate, they can be found on Chinese hackberry trees as well as mulberry, persimmon and ash trees.

Enoki mushrooms were one of the first mushrooms studied for cancer prevention (effect not proven to date) and are widely used in soups and salads. To keep their texture and enhance their lovely umami flavour, they need to be cooked quickly, either flash fried, briefly pan roasted or bathed in the residual heat of stews or stir-fries.