White Fungus (Mushroom) Salad with Nem Chua

70's, 80's. Is it really winter? I always feel like us SoCalifornians are always watching the weather around the States change and we are pretty stagnant. However, I must say at night it can be quite chilly, a cool 50 (or even 40) degrees. That's REALLY cold for us! Luckily, by the afternoon its back up into the mid-to-high 70s. I cannot believe its already December, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family. You may want to make this fungus salad to counteract all the goodies you ate over the extended weekend. And, you probably have exhausted your will to cook for a little while. This is the perfect recipe for you!

Ingredients: 
White fungus - found at any asian market
1/2 red onion - julienne
1/2 red pepper - julienne
1/4 cha lua aka pork loaf - julienne (you see the trend? -_-)
1/4 cup of nem chua - definitely optional
1/2 cup of cilantro - minced
Juice of 1 whole lime
1 tablespoon of fish sauce - adjust to taste

YUM! 

All the ingredients, top clockwise: limes, nem chua, cha lua, red onions, red bell peppers and then in the middle is cilantro. 

First step is to boil the fungus until they are soft. The texture is similar to tripe you get in pho or dim sum. I boiled for 5-7 minutes and then rinsed the fungus thoroughly under cold water. 

After you rinse the fungus thorougly, you need to remove the edible parts of the fungus, the center needs to be discarded. 

You should just have the tender parts leftover. I rough chop the fungus so each piece is bite sized. 

Add in all the ingredients. Then adjust to taste. ITS THAT EASY! It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Finished! ENJOY! 

Thank you for reading!

XX

Kathy