Simply a matter of good taste

Culinary adventure

Earlier this month, I flew to Lijiang, embarking on a journey along the Ancient Tea Horse Road. My first meal was an eagerly anticipated mushroom hotpot. Although it wasn't mushroom season yet, and the fungi I savored had been preserved by freezing, their rich aroma and delightful taste were undiminished.

The local way to enjoy this dish is by combining chicken broth with mushrooms. As the server poured a generous array of mushrooms — varieties I couldn't even name — into the bubbling chicken broth, my excitement grew, and I could hardly wait to dig in. But then, in a twist, the server whisked away my chopsticks and placed an hourglass beside the pot, explaining that it was a timer.

The mushrooms needed a precise 15-minute boil to be safe to eat, lest they prove toxic. The removal of my chopsticks was a precaution to prevent eager diners like myself from sneaking a taste too soon and risking a culinary misadventure.

As it turned out, the 15-minute wait was absolutely worth it. The tender mushrooms, steeped in the rich, savory chicken broth, delighted my taste buds. In that instant, I understood exactly why the locals have such an enduring love for these mushrooms.

As I indulged in the delectable flavors, the waiter brought over a small plastic container with a bit of the mushroom chicken soup. It was meant to be kept as a sample in case of mushroom poisoning, demonstrating their thoroughness in ensuring diners' safety.

In Yunnan, however, the allure of these tasty mushrooms leads to many poisoning incidents every year. For example, a plate of stir-fried jianshouqing, a renowned variety, if not cooked properly, can have hallucinogenic effects. To eat or not to eat? The Yunnan people's stance is clear: It's worth the risk, even if it might be deadly.

Even the former US treasury secretary Janet Yellen couldn't resist the allure of jianshouqing. During her 2023 visit to China, she stopped by a Yunnan restaurant in Beijing and ordered four servings of this specialty in one meal.

In Yunnan, mushroom poisoning is shrugged off like a minor inconvenience. People here have a saying: Even if it means meeting the "little people" — a trippy side effect that has one dancing and reaching for invisible objects — it's worth taking a bite.

After all, they believe that a year without savoring a plate of stir-fried jianshouqing with rapeseed oil and red peppers is a year wasted.