Yellow Ear Fungus and Red Date Rice Porridge

Why people make this porridge

In Cantonese vegetarian cooking, there is a traditional shorthand for the most prized fungal ingredients: “three mushrooms, six ears” — three types of mushroom and six types of edible fungus. Among the six ears, yellow ear (huang er, also called golden ear or jin er) is considered the most precious, having the thickest flesh and the highest concentration of natural plant gelatin. When cooked, it has a distinctive bouncy, silky texture — firm yet smooth — quite unlike the more familiar snow fungus (bai mu er).

In food therapy, this plant gelatin is associated with deeply moistening the skin, supporting the body’s natural collagen matrix, and — taken regularly — contributing to a complexion that stays firm and radiant. Paired with red dates for blood nourishment and rice to anchor the porridge and make it filling, this simple bowl has been a Cantonese beauty kitchen staple for generations.