Lijiang Chicken Truffle

Lijiang Chicken Truffle

　　　 It is one of the finest among the various locally grown mushrooms in Lijiang. Among the four counties of Lijiang—Yongsheng, Huaping, Ninglang, and Lijiang itself—Yongsheng produces the most, followed by Huaping. They gradually come onto the market around the Torch Festival each year. The main varieties are white chicken truffle and black-headed chicken truffle, with the latter being the superior variety. But regardless of the type, chicken truffles that have not yet opened their caps have a more crisp, tender, sweet, and fresh flavor. Common local preparation methods include stir-frying fresh chicken truffles with ham, chili, and shredded meat, or making a “three delicacies” soup. Another popular method is to buy large quantities when chicken truffles are at their peak, mix them with chili, Sichuan pepper, and salt, then deep-fry them in fragrant oil to make “chicken truffle oil.” Regarding the taste of chicken truffle oil, Cao Shuqiao of the Qing Dynasty described it in his work *Dian Nan Za Zhi* (“Miscellaneous Records of Southern Yunnan”) as follows: “The locals salt and dry them, making them edible for years; if rendered into oil to replace soy sauce or fermented black beans, the flavor is even more exquisite—rich, fresh, delicious, flooding the throat and tongue, a fine delicacy of Yunnan.”

　　 According to Tian Mengzhai, who served as an official in Yunnan during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the phrase in *Zhuangzi* that “chicken mushrooms know neither the new moon nor the full moon” indicates that as early as over 2,200 years ago, China had already discovered and documented the consumption of chicken truffles. *Compendium of Materia Medica* also contains records stating that chicken truffles are “beneficial to flavor, refreshing to the spirit, and therapeutic for hemorrhoids.” Throughout the dynasties, many literati and historians in central Yunnan wrote extensively about chicken truffles. Among them, the poem “Chicken Truffle” by the Qing poet Jia Jie is particularly vivid: The ultimate flavor often has no seed, Its whorled form draped in snow-like skin. Its stem sprouts from the fresh spring rain, Its fragrance blooms in late spring’s full prime. Tender and fresh, it graces the first flush, Plump, it draws from the nine-joint rush. When autumn winds blow and greens fade, No other food can match its grade.