It's hard to describe the intensity of feeling these earthy, bulbous, exotic little Thai mushrooms unleash. Angry calls for boycotts and lengthy online chat threads filled with frustration, insults and finger pointing. Community meetings & press statements while Thai people close their ears and queue for a chance to buy these expensive gourmet treats.
Hed thob (เห็ดถอบ) or Thai truffles as they are called. Botanically known as Astraeus hygrometricus
Why the debates, insults and annual upset, particularly on the part of the large global expat community which chooses to call the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, The Rose of the North, home?
This.
How much does a community have to suffer for the culinary privilege of the few? Months and months of filthy, choking air with dreadful AQI - not exclusively caused by forest floor burning to increase the yields of the humble Hed Thob, but definitely it's a substantial contributor. It's even more complicated by the fact that the indigenous mountain people have few income choices and these wild mushrooms command high prices.
Finally, a circuit breaker.
Ethical forest grown, no-burn, sustainable, Hed thob.
Hed Thob cannot be farmed commercially: it grows symbiotically with the underground root systems of the diverse Northern Thai forest. It is an annual mushroom which emerges from the forest floor when the first Mango Rains begin. Traditionally the Thai mountain wisdom has always been that one gathers more and better mushrooms (and consequently more and bigger income) after the forest undergrowth is burned away. And consequently, the northern mountains are deliberately set ablaze for much of March & April, filling the valley with acrid smoke, destroying sensitive wildlife habitat and contributing to biodiversity loss, destroying tourist industry livelihoods, causing respiratory distress and disease and damaging the heath of literally millions of people.
Extensive research by the Maejo Wild Mushroom Research and Innovative Development Center (MWRIDC) at Maejo University has conclusively shown that Hed Thob CAN be cultivated within its natural environment without the need to burn.
Research from the university has also shown that burning does NOT improve the quality and taste of the mushroom, but actually decreases the naturally occurring nutrients in the soil over time, causing more harm than good. Hed Thob grows symbiotically with the root systems of a broad range of tree species. Burning forest reduces biodiversity, resulting in reduced yields over time.
Euang Kam Sai Restaurant and Old Chiangmai Cultural Center, in collaboration with Maejo Wild Mushroom Research and Innovative Development Center (MWRIDC) supports this Northern Thai delicacy - Hed Thob - when it is sourced from certified, no-burn forest grounds from local communities from 6 Northern-Thai provinces - including Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Lamphun, and Lampang. Educating villagers about alternative cultivation methods to burning methods, Maejo University also supports sustainability by providing income to local communities.
Supporting sustainable cultivation of a traditional Northern Thai delicacy whilst conserving the forest is a serious win-win.
How to help ensure the forest burning for Hed Thob stops altogether?
We need and want the message to be spread like wildfire (pardon the pun) that villages can help everyone (and most of all themselves) by stopping the burning and joining the sustainable forest Hed Thob project.
And that starts with US - buying sustainable Hed Thob ONLY, telling our friends and families, sharing this blog and being sure to tell Thai friends in the northern mountains that this is what we will pay for.
If you're in Chiang Mai, please ORDER from Euang Kam Sai Restaurant and be amazed at what they do with these delicacies in traditional Northern Thai Cuisine. Yes, they ARE on Grab Food and, Covid restrictions willing, you can also dine in at their lovely restaurant at the Old Chiangmai Culture Center on Wualai Road.
Not in Chiang Mai and bummed by Covid restrictions in Bangkok and elsewhere? They've got your back! You CAN ORDER cleaned, fresh Hed Thob or brined Hed Thob - it arrives next day.
Prices:
Hed Thob (Fresh)
280 THB / litre (350 grams)
Hed Thob (Brined)
330 THB / litre
*Brined mushrooms can be stored in your freezer for up to 1 year. It can also be shipped domestically within Thailand via temperature-controlled transportation (additional fees apply)
Contact:
Line: 
https://lin.ee/yNbqsdq
Phone: 095-145-0296
Operating Hours: 09.30 - 20.00 hrs.
Pick Up: Old Chiangmai Cultural Center (Wualai Rd.)
Apart from EATING sustainable Hed Thob, how else can YOU help encourage this important sustainability project?
- please REVIEW your sustainable Hed Thob meal publicly on social media;
- please ASK your local restaurants to buy and promote them;
- please SPEAK to community leaders in villages which still burn and help connect them to the Mae Jo Mushroom Project;
- Send your fav environment or foodie blogger over to Euang Kam Sai Restaurant.
Please be part of the change by TRYING this Northern Thai delicacy yourself and letting the world know that great environmental solutions can be created, together.
Pure Thai Natural Co Ltd is SO EXCITED about this initiative which supports organic and sustainable, that we've created a SPECIAL OFFER:
For EVERY order of 800 thb or more from Euang Kam Sai Restaurant which includes a sustainable Hed Thob menu item, Pure Thai Naturals will GIVE you a FREE 100ml Organic Insect Repellent made with mountain grown, organic neem. Simply show a screenshot of this blog when you make your sustainable Hed Thob order to receive your free bottle.
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