Cherry & DennisHOME & FOOD GUIDE
English
Small dark dried cloud ear mushrooms on white, showing thin curled ear-shaped pieces.

Dry goods & condiments

Black Fungus (Wan Yee)

A small, thin dried ear fungus commonly sold in Hong Kong, generally finer than wood ear.

繁體中文
雲耳
English
Black Fungus (Wan Yee)
Bahasa Indonesia
Black Fungus / Wan Yee (雲耳)
Tagalog
Black Fungus / Wan Yee (雲耳)
English

Share with Helper

Choose the recipient language and share that exact page.

What is it?

A small, thin dried ear fungus commonly sold in Hong Kong, generally finer than wood ear.

How to identify it

Dry pieces are small, curled, dark brown to black and thin; after soaking they open into delicate, crisp ear-shaped pieces.

Common confusion

Wood Ear Fungus

Cloud ear is generally smaller/thinner; wood ear generally larger/thicker. Treat this as a market guide and trust the label.

Common Hong Kong household uses

Common in steamed dishes, stir-fries, soups and cold dishes.

Preparation or handling

Rinse under running water and soak in a clean container for at most two hours at room temperature; refrigerate if longer. Cook promptly.

Storage

Keep dry pieces sealed from moisture. Refrigerate during longer soaking and use soaked fungus promptly.

Helper tip

Cloud ear is usually smaller and thinner than wood ear, but names and grades overlap; check the original package.

What Ma’am or Sir may say

今次要雲耳,細片薄身嗰種。

The request is for the smaller, thinner cloud ear, not the generally larger, thicker wood ear.

Useful market phrase

Please give me 雲耳, not the large 木耳.

Does the image look correct?

Last reviewed

Sources