Chinese Dried Black Mushrooms

(冬菇 mandarin: doong-goo; Cantonese: doong-goo)

I have called these dried black mushrooms “Chinese” to distinguish them from other dried black or brown mushrooms frequently seen in specialty stores, but they are in fact common to Japan and Korea as well as to China. “Dried Oriental mushroom” or “shiitake,” the Japanese name, might be as good or better for buying purposes than the name I have chosen, all referring to a dried and wrinkled “black” mushroom (Lentinus edodes), with a cap that can be brown-black, gray, or even tan, and an underside of fawn-colored gills. The caps range in width from 1 inch or less (small) to 1¼ inches (medium) to 1¾ inches (large) and even upwards of 2¼ inches (giant). They are typically bagged by size, with or without stems, and are always expensive relative to other Chinese staples. In my kitchen, I am generally using medium or large mushrooms.