Black Wood-ear

On Mountain Rose Herbs' facebook, someone posted an inquiry on blood thinning herbs:

I'm inquiring about an herb that will help thin the blood from blood clots. Tired of the 4 aspirin a day thing. Anybody know any good herbs?

Here is my answer, though not necessary to be scientifically correct. Posted are pictures of black wood-ear in both dried (left) and expanded (right) forms.


Try black wood-ear, which is available in any Chinese grocery store. Chinese believe that eating black wood-ear can help in thinning the blood.

The black wood-ear is a kind of edible fungus, like mushroom. Since the most common form available is the dried one, what you need to do is first soak in water for half hour, rinse and pinch off the black "root" or anchor points, then soak the black wood-ear for another half to one hour until they are fully expanded to its original form. Drain the water before cooking. You can stir fry the wood-ear with vegetables and/or meat. My favorite way of cooking is boil a cornish hen with black wood-ear in half to 3/4 full pot of water for one hour. Add ginger root and cooking wine to shimmer at medium heat. Add salt and pepper five minutes before cooking is ready.