Steamed Pork with Hazel Mushrooms 榛蘑蒸肉

Steamed Pork with Hazel Mushrooms (榛蘑蒸肉) steams pork with 榛蘑, the hazel mushroom or honey fungus of the forests of Heilongjiang and the wider north-east.

How it is made

榛蘑 is normally sold dried, then soaked back and put into the steamer with sliced pork, ginger and spring onion. Steaming keeps the mushroom moist and lets it absorb the fat from the meat above or below it, a gentler treatment than the long stewing used for the region's better-known chicken and mushroom dish.

Flavour & texture

The mushroom is firm and slightly chewy, with an earthy, nutty flavour that survives cooking and takes on the pork juices in the bowl. The wider regional style is known for generous portions and full, strong flavours, and a steamed mushroom and pork dish sits comfortably inside that description.

Local roots & traditions

榛蘑 grows wild in coniferous woodland across the north and was long among the mushrooms that growers could not cultivate at all. Growers in Heilongjiang succeeded in producing its fruiting bodies in 2017, and the same mushroom is the one used in 小鸡炖蘑菇, a standard north-eastern dish.

Ingredients & dietary needs

The dish is built on Armillaria mellea and pork, with seasoning such as soy, ginger and rice wine. The mushroom is recorded as causing allergic reactions in some people, so anyone with a mushroom allergy should treat the dish as unsuitable and ask the kitchen which fungus was used.

How to order Steamed Pork with Hazel Mushrooms

Ask for 榛蘑蒸肉 and find out whether the mushrooms were wild-gathered or cultivated, since wild stock is seasonal and costs more. Confirm the cut of pork, ask 有没有放酒 if you avoid alcohol, and check the portion size before ordering for a small group.

How to eat it & plan a meal

The dish arrives in a bowl or steamer to be shared; spoon the mushroom and the juices over plain rice and let the pork be the richer element of the meal. Two to three people can share one portion alongside vegetables, and the mushroom reheats well because it was dried to begin with.

More dishes to compare

Explore related local specialties and compare their names, preparation notes and ordering guidance.

The two dishes use the same steaming method in the same province, so the mushroom is the difference that matters at the table.

Steamed Pork with Wild Lion's Mane Mushroom 野生猴头蒸肉 →

Steamed Pork with Wild Lion's Mane Mushroom (野生猴头蒸肉) is the companion dish on Heilongjiang tables, steaming wild monkey-head mushroom with pork. The method is the same, but the fungus is not: 榛蘑 is dense and earthy, while monkey-head mushroom is spongier and milder.

Questions before you order

What is 榛蘑 in English?

It is Armillaria mellea, known as honey fungus or hazel mushroom. It grows in woodland across northern China, and the name 榛蘑 refers to the mushroom rather than to a specific recipe.

Can everyone eat these mushrooms?

Not certainly. The mushroom is edible but recorded as causing allergic reactions in some people, so ask the kitchen what was used and avoid the dish if you react to mushrooms.

Source introduction: Wikipedia contributors: 蜜環菌 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikipedia text, attribution required). English guide adapted from the cited material, with additional preparation and ordering guidance.

Source introduction: Wikipedia contributors: 东北菜 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikipedia text, attribution required). English guide adapted from the cited material, with additional preparation and ordering guidance.