Snow Fungus Soup (Chinese Tremella Soup)

Chinese Tremella Soup uses the fungus tremella fuciformis (also known as snow fungus or silver ear mushroom) as the main ingredient. As Chinese soups go, this one is quite light, but it still has its unique effects and nutrition. Snow fungus soup is usually cooked with red dates and wolfberries, which are ingredients that nourish qi and blood. Or you can pair it with snow pears and rock sugar. This dish can be served as a soup, or, if sweetened, thickened with cornstarch, and refrigerated, as a healthy dessert.

Tremella fuciformis is commercially cultivated in China and widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is known as silver ear (银耳 yín ěr); snow ear (雪耳 xuě ěr); or white wood ear (白木耳 bái mù ěr), literally “white wood ear“)

In traditional Chinese medicine, this can relieve cough symptoms caused by lung problems. Western medical research supports some of these claims, noting that the polysaccharide content has immune, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, especially cumulative over time.

Tips for preparing Snow Fungus Soup

Tremella has natural characteristics of colloid, so when tremella is soaked and cooked for a long time, it will produce a sticky feeling. Stir it with a spoon to see if the soup has a sticky feeling.

If you are worried about being able to cook a good tremella soup, you can add some starch when soaking, so that the soaked tremella carries part of the starch, and the starch will become thick after being heated. If you like it sweeter, you can add sugar according to your taste.

Tremella Soup (aka Snow Fungus Soup)

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Tremella is the main ingredient in this soup, though it also includes jujubes (Chinese red dates) and wolfberries. This soup is light in the category of Chinese soup, but it still has its unique effects and nutritional value. In traditional Chinese medicine, these ingredients nourish qi and blood. Western medical research supports some of these claims, noting that the polysaccharide content has immune, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, especially cumulative over time. Tremella soup has a sticky feeling when stirred with a spoon, because Tremella has natural characteristics of colloid, which is also good for skin health. You can thicken tremella soup further, if you want, by adding a small amount of starch. If you like it sweeter, you can add more sugar, and it can be served cold as a dessert after refrigerating.

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Soup

Cuisine Chinese Home Cooking

Servings 2

Calories 166 kcal

• 1 large saucepan

• 1 large bowl

• 1 portion dried tremella fungus tremella fuciformis, aka snow fungus or silver ear mushroom
• 5 jujubes Chinese red dates
• 3 g wolfberry
• 30 ml sugar
• 10 ml corn starch

• Prepare the ingredients.

• Put the tremella in a basin, pour enough cold water to cover the tremella, add 10ml of starch, and soak for one hour.

  1 portion dried tremella fungus, 10 ml corn starch

• Slice the red dates.

  5 jujubes

• After the tremella is soaked, remove the roots.

• Tear the tremella into small pieces, and wash them clean.

• Add cold water and tremella fuciformis to a large saucepan. The ratio of water to tremella is 5:1. Bring to a boil over high heat, then continue to cook over high heat for 10-12 minutes. Then stir quickly with chopsticks or a spoon for 20 seconds.

• Add the red dates and sugar. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Finally, add the wolfberries.

  5 jujubes, 3 g wolfberry, 30 ml sugar

• Turn off the heat. Cover with lid for 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Calories: 166kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 5gFat: 1gSodium: 42mgPotassium: 808mgFiber: 15gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 7IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 2mg

Keyword corn starch, jujube, sugar, white, tremella, wolfberry

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