Can You Eat Lion's Mane and Cordyceps? Cooking Tips and How Capsules Differ

Short answer: Yes. Lion's Mane is an edible mushroom you can sauté or add to soups, and in China and Korea dried Cordyceps militaris is sold as a soup ingredient. Cooking with them and taking extract capsules differ mainly in amount and convenience.

What is Lion's Mane like, and how do you eat it?

Lion's Mane (ヤマブシタケ in Japanese) is a white mushroom covered in hanging, hair-like spines. It's soft and fluffy, and once cooked its texture is often compared to crab or shrimp.

• Sautéed: tear it by hand and pan-fry in butter or olive oil until golden.
• Soups and hot pots: it soaks up broth well in miso soup or nabe.
• Tempura or fried: battered, it's crisp outside and soft inside.

It absorbs water easily, so wipe it clean with a paper towel rather than washing it.

Can you eat cordyceps?

It's not a common food in Japan, but it is in China and Korea. Cordyceps militaris can be cultivated, and its dried orange fruiting bodies are sold as 虫草花 (chóngcǎohuā) in China and 동충하초 (dongchungha-cho) in Korea, where they're simmered in soups, often with chicken, or made into tea. Wild cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) is scarce and very expensive. See Cordyceps sinensis vs militaris.