day 386 – four dried food that i love cooking with

Dried food is great! Convenient and tasty! It can be stored for a longer period of time than their fresh state and the flavor is altered/enhanced by the process of drying.

Out of many dried food that I have I selected these four today.

Clockwise from top left:
1. Black fungus (I use this often for soup, salad, and stir-fry)
2. White fungus (I also use this often for soup, salad, and stir-fry, but this is often used as a dessert ingredient in Chinese cuisine, too.)
3. Seaweed (I use this for salad)
4. Scallop (I use this for soup and stir-fry)

In the process of drying, most dried foods end up having dark and dull colors, but the rich flavors they get in return are wonderful. Don’t judge things only by their look; this phrase that we hear from time to time applies to dried food. Dull colors don’t describe the colorful flavors within.