Flavorful and nutritious, enoki mushrooms are popular among hot pot lovers, but repeated cases of enoki mushroom poisoning have made many people wary of them. In fact, fresh enoki mushrooms can be eaten safely as long as they are cooked thoroughly.
Fresh enoki mushrooms contain colchicine, which, after being consumed, can easily oxidize into toxic colchicine dioxide. This substance has a strong irritant effect on the gastrointestinal and respiratory mucous membranes, and large consumption can lead to poisoning symptoms. Sun Jingdan, a chief nutritionist at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, points out that colchicine is very sensitive to heat and can be destroyed by boiling over high heat for about ten minutes. It is best to soak them in cold water for 1-2 hours before cooking, which can also dissolve some of the colchicine into the water.
In addition, experts remind that the hot pot broth used for cooking enoki mushrooms should not be consumed afterward, as it is not only high in oil and fat but may also contain many residual harmful substances. If you buy dried enoki mushrooms or canned enoki mushrooms from the supermarket, the colchicine in them has already been destroyed, so they can be eaten safely and are great for cold salads or hot pot.
Enoki mushrooms are suitable for the elderly, children, cancer patients, and those with liver diseases, stomach or intestinal ulcers, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases who suffer from qi and blood deficiency or malnutrition. However, as they are considered "cold" in nature, people with a weak spleen and stomach or chronic diarrhea should consume them in moderation.