this is edible wild mushroom variably called uong-kalaw, uong-bunton, uong-kimat, or uong-managadu. uong-kalaw because some folks say this mushroom misght be produced or induced by the bird called kalaw (in what way i really don’t know). uong-bunton because it usually grow around some anthills or “termite queendoms” or on moist reddish and clayish earth. and uong-kimat and uong-managadu because it really is induced by lightning and they grow and sprout abundantly in the night after a rainy, thunderstormy aftrenoon or dusk, to be picked in the early morning.
this one kind of wild mushroom is perfect for soups with greens like saluyot, bittermelon tops, marunggay tops, camote tops, kalunay tops or any other tops and shoots and young leaves an ilokano can imagine.
the sweet wild uong broth is so savory and so tasty it’s as if it is what vetsin or msg or umami is made from. i also like the slippery saluyot-like texture of this mushroom. which just suits well with green leafy veggies with somewhat coarse or rough texture like saluyot itself and that of the leaves, stalks and shoots of string beans (also called cowpea). it also blends well with nasabeng a bulbulong or greens with a peculiar smell of tartness or sharpness (napas-eng) like that of marunggay and alokon leaves and again, string bean leaves.
so i decided a mushroom and string bean leaves combination this time:
clean and wash the mushrooms thoroughly but do not squeeze them thoroughly else all that sweetness and tastiness of its succulence will be sucked out. remove all traces of dirt or earth and wash and rinse it in running tap water. also, as this kind of mushroom is prone to attack by some unsightly and very tiny pinkish and whitish worm, inspect the leaves for they might be starting to grow in there, between the filmy strands (called “gills”) under the mushroom cap. the older mushroom (those fully grown) and which is starting to wilt or wither is a suspect of being invaded by these worms, they even dig themselves in the stem.
a mushroom soup should not be too salty so put in just a mild amount of bugguong in the boiling water. some do not like bugguong in the mushroom soup at all because they claim the bugguong will overwhelm the broth it will become “naangdod” or smelly/bugguongy; you can use just table salt, if you prefer. or just put in a few drops of bugguong juice just for the heck of it to be called inabraw or dinengdeng the ilokano way (nabugguongan).
anyway, because of the utong tops, i need to neutralize the “sabeng” or “pas-eng’ with a right quantity of bugguong sauce.
put in some onion slices, some garlic “teeth” and put in the mushrooms first, let boil and simmer. when the mushrooms are cooked, put in the utong tops and simmer for some time. do not overcook the tops, make it just succulently crisp. put in some tomato slices just before you serve it.
enjoy the savory soup and the slick mushroom goodness!
once more…
