Magic Mushroom

If you are what you eat, who are you?

It is a classic story about a mental patient.

In a bedlam, every day there is an old woman in black, squatting in front of the door and holding a black umbrella. Seeing this a doctor decided to cure her and he thought the first step was knowing about this patient so he also began to squat next to the old lady with a black umbrella. They had been squatting wordlessly for a month. Eventually, the old lady broke the silence and talked to the doctor, “Excuse me….Are you a mushroom, too?”

I have no idea what the doctor’s answer is. But for me, my answer is “Yes, I am.” If we were what we eat, then I believe most people in Yunnan will be mushrooms, too.

In Yunnan, It’s not a complete summer without mushrooms. In rainy summer months, wild mushroom collection is in full swing across the mountainous regions, which is estimated up to 800 different kinds. All varieties of mushrooms, such as “jicong”, “ganbajun”, have their unique flavors, among which my favorite is “jian shou qing”, a kind of boletus, meaning it will turn cyan after being pinched by hands. Jianshouqings are big in size and flavor―rich and meaty, often sliced to stir-fry, and have a distinctly delicate, earthy taste. It’s so delicious and unforgettable that I can’t stop eating every time it’s served on table even it’s toxic.

Yes, what you read is exactly right. Some poisonous wild mushrooms can be excellent cuisine after being treated properly. However, unfortunately, the season of mushrooms is also the food poisoning peak season, mostly due to an incorrect way of preparing or not being cooked enough. Maybe it’s not a complete life without poisoning experience as a mushroom lover. Being affected, you will enter a magic world ―a shaking ship on the vast sea, a group of tiny guys dancing and running, hangers flying, grass growing all over the bed…What a fantasy!

All right, it’s more dangerous than funny to eat toxic mushrooms so please be cautious when enjoying the flavor. And why are a great number of people so keen on mushrooms even it’s full of risk? Maybe it’s love that makes people enjoy mushrooms, together with the hallucinations they brought :) That’s the magic of mushrooms.