Yunnan is often referred to as one of China’s agricultural baskets, producing everything from flowers and coffee to tea and olive oil. Yet few ingredients are as closely associated with the province as its yeshengjun, or wild mushrooms.
From July to September each year, seasonal rains transform the province’s mountains and forests into one of the world’s richest mushroom habitats, drawing foragers into the hills and filling wholesale markets with freshly harvested fungi destined for restaurants across the country.
Among Yunnan’s abundant array of wild mushrooms, none inspires greater obsession among connoisseurs than the ganbajun, named after Yunnan’s sun-dried beef jerky as the fungi develops an intensely savoury aroma when cooked.
But ganbajun’s yield is low, its season brief and demand intense. The coral-like fungus is also notoriously difficult to clean, often emerging from the forest floor with its folds filled with pine needles, soil and pebbles.
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