More secrets to good food from my grandma’s cookbook. This time we sit by her feet as she teaches us how to prepare bubwoba as the first step to whipping up tasty but simple creamy wild mushroom the Luhya way.

We’ve already shared a family secret with the simple beef tallow Luhya mushroom recipe. If you love good food and are yet to try out this 100+ year old recipe, head on to the bottom of this post for a chance of a taste of heaven. But before we get there, like we’ve always said and seen with the likes of muduya, enyama esike and engoko, the secret to good Luhya food lies in preparation.

It is no different for wild mushrooms. First, as you know, bubwoba can be eaten fresh or dried depending on one’s preference. That maybe the choice today, but I always saw my grandmother going through the trouble of drying the mushrooms before cooking them.

Moreover my mother too, with her contemporary take on making mushrooms the Luhya way, almost always insist on sun dried mushrooms.

Either way, the procedure is the same.

How to properly clean and dry wild mushroom

Time needed: 3 days, 1 hour and 30 minutes

I cannot stress enough the importance of properly cleaning wild mushroom before cooking. Everything depends on this step. No one wants a plate of soil or likes the discomfort crushing tiny stones by their teeth as they dig into their dinner.

First thorough cleaning
When you pick the mushrooms in the wild, immediately begin by removing excess soil and dirt from stocks and heads using a blunt object. If your intention is to dry the mushrooms, keep them dry away from moisture which may encourage undesired fungi to grow on your ubwoba.
Splitting the wild mushrooms
Slice the mushroom in small sizes to your preference. The larger the better for taste afterwards. You can do this with a knife, or by simply ‘tearing’ them along their fibers. This step helps increase the surface area, thus enabling further processing.
Sun drying mushrooms
This is step applies to instances when the picked mushroom is to be stored for later consumption. For those who love their mushrooms fresh, head on to step four below. Sun drying entails exposing the mushroom to maximum sun, accompanied by periodic turning. Allow the mushrooms to sundry for at least 3 days.

Remember to keep turning and to chase away insects like flies that may want deposit their eggs on the mushroom. Such contamination is often the source of maggots in bubwoba afterwards. Often, this is tedious, mind numbing work. Whenever I saw my grandma battle through it, I witnessed and felt a mother’s love.

Modern variations of this step involves using an oven to do the whole mushroom drying or ‘finishing’ off it off after 2 days of sun drying.
Soaking
Soak the split wild mushrooms in water. But before soaking, particularly for dried mushrooms, sort the vegetable to rid of foreign matter such as sticks, rocks or dead maggots. Ensure that the mushrooms are fully submerged in water for at least 1 hour for dry mushroom and 30 minutes for fresh ones.

For dry mushrooms, warm water yields better results while cold water is preferred for mushrooms intended to be cooked fresh. Dry mushrooms will take up the water and ‘swell’ regaining their mass and shape. This will ensure all soil falls off the mushroom surface. Especially for dry mushrooms, the mushroom will float while the soil settles in the bottom.
Rinse and repeat
Using a strain, skim off the mushroom and discard the waste water. Use plenty of water to wash and rinse the mushrooms. Remember that clear water does not mean that the mushroom is free of soil. To ensure that your mushroom is completely clean before cooking ensure all the steps above have been done to the letter. In particular for sun dried mushrooms, soaking (step 4) for longer yields better results.

Try out my grandma’s traditional Luhya mushroom recipe

Tasty bubwoba: Simple beef tallow Luhya mushroom recipe

Traditional century old Luhya cuisine recipe that uses tallow, munyu musherekha and milk to deliver a creamy, nutty meal of wild mushrooms.

Print Recipe

Course Main Dish

Cuisine African Cuisine, East African Cuisine, Luhya Cuisine

Equipment

1 Sufuria or cooking pot
1 Cooking stick

Ingredients

Seasoning

1 cup Munyu musherekha or ½ teaspoon munyu kwa lukhaye
1 tbsp salt

Main ingredients

4 handfuls dried bubwoba (wild mushrooms)
1 cup Whole Milk
2 tablespoons Beef or mutton tallow (Isiachi)
4 Shoots spring onion

Instructions

Clean the wild mushrooms by soaking them in water for at least 3 hours and letting the soil to fall to the bottom of the container. Thereafter, repeatedly rinse he mushrooms until water is clear.
4 handfuls dried bubwoba (wild mushrooms)
Melt the beef tallow (isiachi) in a pan and fry the mushrooms and stirring continuously to avoid it sticking to the pan.
2 tablespoons Beef or mutton tallow (Isiachi)
Add munyu musherekha and cover to simmer until the munyu reduces.
1 cup Munyu musherekha
Add milk and let simmer until it reduces to desired thickness and mushrooms are soft. Add water as need be if mushrooms remains undercooked.
1 cup Whole Milk
Season with salt
1 tbsp salt
Garnish with the spring onions and serve hot.
4 Shoots spring onion

Notes

Learn more

How to make animal fat tallow (isiachi), the traditional Luhya way

Keyword Creamy Delicacies, Easy, Rich, Traditional

Easy creamy wild mushroom the Luhya way: grandma’s recipe book reveals secret to finger licking bubwoba lies in preparation