Spicy Shrimp + Wood Ear Salad

Wood ear mushrooms used to creep me the fuck out—they look and feel like what alien ears might be like. But that all changed after I had a cold wood ear salad at a restaurant called Joy in Los Angeles. I became obsessed. I actually ended up working there for about a month before COVID shut down most of the LA restaurant scene. It was a bummer—I'd been so pumped to get hired. I’d tried to get a job there a year earlier and definitely botched the interview. I think I was just nervous—it would’ve been my first cooking job out of college (regular college, not culinary school).

Anyway—wood ears are awesome. They’re amazing at holding sauces and adding a kind of umami crunch to just about anything. The salad I had was Taiwanese-inspired, with lots of chili, lime, nuts, and soy. That was the inspiration behind this dish: super fresh, but with a bit more of a substantial bite.