Plump, white vegetable meat - snow-white mushrooms breaking through the red soil

Text and photography / Lin Ruyin

It was the start of autumn, yet the blazing sun was no less fierce than at the height of summer. As the car drove through the harvested fields of the Jianan Plain, heading toward Shuilin Township in Yunlin County, known as "the first township to open Taiwan," a verdant "Longchi Mushroom Farm" came into view in the distance amid the flat rice paddies. Under the bright blue sky, red soil was being spread out to dry in the open ground across from the farm.

Walking into the office of Longchi Mushroom Farm under the scorching sun, we saw a map of Yunlin County and a timeline posted on the wall. Yang Xiangyu, full of smiles, said he had been waiting a long time. "The office here doesn't have air conditioning. Only where the mushrooms are has air conditioning." Before we had even settled into our seats in the office, he eagerly led everyone into the front lines of mushroom growing.

When the mushroom house was opened, we visitors couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" Snow-white mushrooms were breaking through the soil, large and small scattered throughout the earth, quietly exuding a soothingly cute appearance, yet full of vitality!

Truly Fresh and Sweet Deliciousness

The button mushroom, known as plant meat and vegetable protein, is also called mushroom, and in Minnan dialect it is called songrong. It looks crystal-clear and white, plump and round, and is very high in iron and protein, so after leaving the soil it will slowly oxidize and turn brown, which is a normal phenomenon. "Our mushrooms are not washed with water, let alone soaked in any chemical solution. Occasionally they pick up the color of the red soil. A simple clean and they are ready to eat." Yang Xiangyu suggested eating the mushrooms as soon as possible after getting them, so that the flavor and freshness are at their best when they enter your mouth.

"I can eat them every day and never get tired of them." Yang Xiangyu, who loves eating button mushrooms, shared, "The best way to eat them is stir-fried with salted pork; the fresh sweetness and deliciousness are both brought out. Another way is mushroom omelette, and you must add black pepper!" Plump button mushrooms, cultivated with the sincere care of farmers, bring a jewel-like sparkle to the dining table. Freshly picked and freshly eaten, nutrition gets a boost!

(Originally published in Green Claim Monthly, September 2017, Issue 167)