Seasoned Mushroom (Buhsut Namool)

Another Korean side dish. Simple and yet delicious. It can be added to Bibimbap too.

Preparation: 12 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced

Seasoning
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° l½ tablespoon light soy sauce
° 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
° ½ teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

Method
1. Blanch the mushroom in a pot of boiling water until cooked. Drain well and squeeze out any excess liquid. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the mushroom to a big bowl or plate. Stir in the sesame oil, light soy sauce, sugar and mix well.
3. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and serve.

Toasted King Oyster Mushroom

Again, this is a very quick and simple dish which everyone can do. You can replace spices salt with curry powder with pinch of salt added or just salt and pepper. It is a delectable dish.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g king oyster mushroom/cardoncello mushroom, slice lengthwise
° olive oil, for brushing
° spices salt, for brushing

Method
1. Brush some oil and spices salt on the mushroom slices.
2. Grease a baking tray with oil and place the mushroom slices on it. Toast or bake for 10 minutes or until it is golden yellow. Turn them over halfway.
3. Serve immediately.

Oriental Mix and Match Claypot

Oh, another easy one-pot meal, just put most of the ingredients in a claypot and bring to a boil. Short and sweet! It goes well with yellow noodles and rice. You may even add few different types of mushrooms, fungus to make this a mushroom pot.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g broccoli florets
° 100g can bao-bailing mushroom, sliced
° 50g golden needle mushroom (enoki), based trimmed
° 25g deep-fried beancurd stick, cut into strip
° 25g fresh lily bulb, trimmed and peeled
° 2-3 slices ginger
° 1½ tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce, or to taste
° 350ml water or vegetable stock
° 1 teaspoon Chinese wolfberries, soaked
° pepper to taste
° 1 teaspoon tapioca flour, mixed with 4 tablespoons water

Method
1. Combine the bao-bailing mushroom, golden needle mushroom, beancurd stick, ginger, vegetarian oyster sauce, water or vegetable stock in a claypot and bring to a boil.
2. Add in the broccoli, chinese wolfberries, lily bulb and season to taste with pepper. Stir in the tapioca flour mixture and bring to a boil
3. Garnish with coriander leaves and serves hot.

Braised Chinese Cabbage with Bao-Bailing Mushroom

This is a simple and easy to cook dish. The Bao-Bailing mushroom which had the same colour and texture as the abalone can be easily used to fake as real abalone. I bought this can of Bao-Bailing mushroom from HockHua Tonic. On this can of this Bao-Bailing Mushroom, it says that Bao-Bailing Mushroom (pleurotus eryngii var) is a rare fungus and well-known as prince in fungus family.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g chinese cabbage (wong bak), base trimmed and halved
° 100g can Bao-Bailing mushroom, sliced
° 5 slices ginger
° ¾ teaspoon olive oil
° 1½ tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, or to taste
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° 250ml water or vegetable stock
° 1 teaspoon Chinese wolfberries, soaked in warm water
° pepper to taste (optional)
° few sprig fresh corianders, for garnish

Method
1. Combine the chinese cabbage, bao-bailing mushroom, ginger, olive oil, vegetarian oyster sauce, light soy sauce, water or vegetable stock in a claypot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Stirring occasionally.
2. Add in the chinese wolfberries and season to taste with pepper. If it is too watery, thicken the gravy with a bit of corn flour solution, if desired.
3. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with coriander leaves and serves hot.

Crispy Mushrooms with Basil

This is a deep fried dish, if you are watching your weight, it is best to avoid this or share among your family members or you need to exercise more and no more deep-fried food for the rest of the week.

Honestly, the deep-fried enoki mushroom is real FANTASTIC. With some crispy basil leaves, this made a real presentable dish if you have any guests around for dinner. By the way, enoki mushroom is said to be able to wards off cancer and have a surprisingly high vegetable protein of 5 per cent. Basil on the other hand is said to help relieve fever, purge wind, cleanse blood and strengthen the stomach. So eat more of these, but not the deep-fried one!

Oh, the oil for deep-frying will get milky due to the corn flour used so strain with a paper coffee bag place in a bowl.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 12 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 100g enoki mushroom, base discarded and separated
° 6-8 fresh shiitake mushrooms
° small handful (25g) basil leaves
° 2 red chilli padi, sliced
° oil, for deep-frying
° 3-4 tablespoons corn flour
° 1/3 teaspoon Chinese five-spices powder, or to taste
° 1/3 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method
1. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok, add in the basil leaves, chilli and fry until crispy. Drain well on kitchen paper and set aside.

2. Combine corn flour, five-spice powder and salt in a plate and mix well. Coat the entire mushrooms with the flour.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Place the mushrooms in and then fry until golden brown. Drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Arrange the basil and mushrooms on a serving plate and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Shiitake Mushroom

Lately, we can find different variety of mushrooms at the supermarket and even the wet market they are stocking up a few different type of mushrooms. They would normally suggest that using few varieties of mushrooms and stir-fry with garlic and oyster sauce. This is a dish of shiitake mushrooms stir-fry with garlic or ginger and vegetarian oyster sauce. I add some veggie to this dish, which can be optional. It is rather similar to the recipe ‘China Chye Sim and Shiitake Mushroom”. The differences are there is a slight different in the sauce ingredients and the amount of veggie is lesser for this dish.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g fresh shiitake mushrooms
° 100g romaine (cos lettuce) (optional), blanched for 5-10 seconds
° 2 slices gingers or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
° 2 tablespoons olive oil
° ¼ fresh red chilli (optional), sliced

Sauce
° 2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
° 5 tablespoons water
° 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine

Method
1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the ginger or garlic and fry until fragrant.
3. Add the mushroom and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in the sauce, continue to cook for another 1 minute.
4. Pour over the romaine, garnish with some red chilli and serve immediately.

Shimeji Mushroom Rice

I read about shimeji gohan - rice with shimeji mushrooms, in a Japanese cookbook. It called for shimeji mushroom, rice and salt. For the cooking juice, it required dashi stock, light soy sauce and sake. To simplify, I added kelps and ginger to replace the dashi stock and use Chinese cooking wine with some sugar to replace the sake. I had also increased the amount of mushrooms, so that it more like combining two dishes in one and thus save lots of cooking time. For a more nutritious meal, unpolished brown rice can be used or mixed with jasmine rice. However, it required some soaking time. Sprinkle with some spring onion, if desired. Or add some blanched broccoli florets and carrot to make it a one-pot meal.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° 150g buna shimeji/brown beech mushroom, base discarded and separated
° 2-3 slices ginger, finely chopped
° 6 kelps in knot
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon sugar
° 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine
° 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients into an electric rice cooker, mix well and turn it on.
2. When done leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.

China Chye Sim with Shiitake Mushroom

I love simple dish that does not need lots of culinary skill. For this recipe, the sauce is just enough to avoid any wastage. If you prefer more sauce, just increase the ingredients for the sauce to 1.5 times. Ginger or garlic can be sliced and discarded prior to adding the mushroom, if you prefer a neater presentation.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g china chye sim, trimmed
° 8 fresh shiitake mushrooms
° 2 slices gingers or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 500ml water
° ¼ fresh red chilli (optional), finely chopped

Sauce
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° 5 tablespoons water
° 1 teaspoon cooking rice wine (optional)
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Method
1. Bring 500ml water to a boil. Blanch china chye sim in batches for 45 - 60 seconds or until crisp-tender. Drain well and arrange on a serving plate.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the ginger or garlic and fry until fragrant.
4. Add the mushroom and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in the sauce, continue to cook for 1 minute.
5. Pour over the china chye sim, garnish with some red chilli and serve immediately.

Hedgehog Hydnum Mushroom (Monkey Head Mushroom)

Bought a packet (220g) of Hedgehog Hydnum Mushroom from a vegetarian shop, which can be used for stir-fry, boil soup or just eaten on its own after heating up. The ingredient consists of hedgehog hydnum mushroom, egg, veg seasoning and the brand is Goldhat. There is another brand which does not contain egg, it is a product of Taiwan by Yuan Ren (渊仁).

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 220g hedgehog mushroom/monkey head mushroom

Method
1. Place the hedgehog mushroom in a heat proof plate. Steam for 5-8 minutes. Serve immediately.

Sweet and Sour Oyster Mushroom

Ahh! This is the vegetarian/vegan version of the sweet and sour fish or meat Chinese dish. Forget about the mock fish or pork. Use oyster mushroom and it is equally tasty. If you are not a big fan of mushroom, use tempeh (made from a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybean particles into a cake form) instead.

Preparation: 5 mins plus 20 mins standing time, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 100g oyster mushroom/spawn mushroom, washed, drained well and pat dry
° 1 (100g) tomatoes, cut into wedges
° 100g cucumber, cut into cubes
° 2 slices ginger, finely chopped
° 2 cloves garlic (optional), finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° vegetable oil, for deep-frying
° ¾ teaspoon Chinese five-spices powder
° 60g corn starch, for coating
° ¼ teaspoon salt

Sauce
° 2 tablespoons tomatoes sauce
° 1 tablespoon chilli sauce
° 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
° 1 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
° ¾-1 teaspoon corn starch
° 1 teaspoon cooking rice wine (optional)
° 90ml water

Method
1. Marinate the oyster mushrooms with Chinese five-spice powder and salt for 20 minutes.
2. Pour the corn starch on a plate and coat the oyster mushroom with corn starch.
3. Heat oil and sesame oil in a deep-fryer or wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Drop the oyster mushroom into the hot oil and fry in batches until lightly golden brown.
4. Remove the oyster mushroom with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper and arrange on a serving plate. Set aside.
5. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
6. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 1 minute.
7. Add the tomatoes, cucumber and stir-fry for 1½ minutes. Give the sauce mixture a stir before pouring into the work and bring to a boil.
8. Pour over the deep-fried oyster mushrooms and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Broccoli with King Oyster Mushroom

Photograhper: Little JF

Broccoli is a hardy vegetable of the cabbage family that is high in vitamins A and D. Traditionally ginger is always cooked with broccoli - its warmth balances the coolness of yin vegetables such as broccoli. So for this recipe, instead of using small amount of ginger juice, I used few slices of ginger and chopped finely to intensify the flavor of the vegetables. Other ways of stir-fry broccoli is with carrot, beancurd, and other types of mushrooms. It is a bit difficult to avoid overcooking the broccoli during the stir-frying process, therefore I like to blanched it first. In fact, blanched broccoli florets tasted good with or without any dipping sauces.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g broccoli florets, blanched
° 75g-100g king oyster mushroom, 5cm length and 1cm thick strip
° 2-3 slices ginger, finely chopped
° ¾ -1 tablespoon olive oil

° 1 teaspoon wolfberries (optional), soaked

Sauce
° 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
° ½ teaspoon sugar
° 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
° pepper, to dash
° 1 teaspoon cooking rice wine (optional)
° 90ml water

Method
1. Arrange the blanched broccoli in a serving plate and set aside.
2. Combine the ingredients for sauce and wolfberries in a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant. Add the mushroom and stir-fry briskly for 1-2 minutes or until soften.
4. Stir in the sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Drizzle over the broccoli serve immediately.

Claypot Braised Beancurd with Glass Noodles

An easy to cook claypot dish! I omitted the normal sequence of stir frying the ingredients prior to stewing in the claypot, to speed up the process. I love the bean vermicelli to be deep-fried, it soak up the gravy better and easier to digest. However, for a healthier choice, you may soaked the vermicelli and throw in together with the vegetables.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 150g chinese cabbage (wong bak), cut into broad strips
° 6-8 chinese dried mushrooms, soaked
° 1 slice ginger
° 250ml water
° 2 firm tofu/beancurds (225g), cut into 4 sections and deep-fried
° 1 pack/50g bean vermicelli, deep-fried
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Seasoning
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° ½ teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil
° pepper, to taste

Method
1. Combine the Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, ginger, water, beancurd and seasoning into a claypot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Add in the bean vermicelli and bring to a boil, usually after a while the bean vermicelli will soak up most of the gravy. If it is too watery, thicken the gravy with a bit of cornflour solution, if desired.
3. Garnish with coriander leaves and red chilli. Serves hot.

Claypot Braised Mushroom and Beancurd

With this recipe, you can whip up a home cooked meal in minutes or when you are tired. There is not much works at all, just throw in the entire ingredient into a claypot and leave it to cook. By using claypot or corningware, you can transfer it from the fire to the table and reduce lots of washing to be done later. Again, this is an any one can cook recipe, it won't go wrong at all.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 2 firm tofu/beancurd (225g), cut into 4 or 6 sections
° 250ml water
° 4-8 chinese dried mushrooms, soaked
° 1 slice ginger
° 4 red dates (optional)
° 1 star anise
° 3 cloves
° 2cm cinnamon stick
° ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
° 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil
° 1 teaspoon cooking rice wine (optional)

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients into a claypot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serves hot.

Stir-Fried Mushroom with Sesame Oil and Ginger

This is another easy stir-fried confinement dish. Cardoncello mushroom or king oyster mushroom is used to substitute the chicken. Cardoncello mushroom contains minimal fat, salt and very little calories but with lots of vital minerals. For a change, vegetarian fish slice can be used to replace the mushroom.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 7 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 75g-100g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 25g ginger, peeled and finely shredded
° 2 tablespoons sesame oil
° 2 tablespoons cooking rice wine or glutinous rice wine
° 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
° ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
° ¼ teaspoon sugar (optional)

Method
1. Heat the sesame oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry briskly for a moment. Drizzle the wine over the mushrooms and continue to stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Season to taste with sugar, light and dark soy sauce.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Tofu with Oyster Mushroom

Another quick and simple delicious tofu dish, yet it contains simple ingredients and is easy to get. Fresh shiitake mushroom or cardoncello mushroom or shimeiji mushroom can be used or added to this dish, if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g), cut into cubes
° 150g oyster mushroom/abalone mushroom, sliced
° 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and sliced
° 1 thin slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
° a stalk spring onion or fresh coriander leaves, cut diagonally

Sauce
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
° 1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
° 1½ teaspoons corn starch
° 6 tablespoons water
° pepper, to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till golden brown. Add the mushroom stir-fry for less than a minute. Add in the tofu and stir-fry briskly. Stir in the sauce mixture, spring onion or coriander leaves, chilli and simmer until the sauce is thickened.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with rice.

Mock Lard Crisps

By deep-frying the fresh shiitake mushroom cubes coated with tapioca flour, it tastes almost like the real lard crisp and can be added to any dishes or noodles.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients
° 250g fresh shiitake mushrooms, washed, pat dry and cut into small cubes
° 80g-100g tapioca flour
° salt and pepper, to taste
° oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Place the mushrooms in a bowl. Add the tapioca flour, salt, pepper and mixed well.
2. Heat oil in a wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Place the mushrooms into the hot oil and fry in batches until lightly golden brown.
3. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper and set aside.

Crispy Shiitake Mushroom

Deep-fried fresh shiitake mushrooms coated with tapioca flour can be a tasty snack by itself.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients
° 250g fresh shiitake mushrooms, washed, pat dry and sliced
° 80g-100g tapioca flour
° salt and pepper, to taste
° oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Place the mushrooms in a bowl. Add the tapioca flour, salt, pepper and mixed well.
2. Heat oil in a wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Place the mushrooms into the hot oil and fry in batches until lightly golden brown.
3. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper and set aside.

Stir-Fried Mock Eel

This mock eel recipe makes use of the dangly strips of shiitake mushrooms which is deep-fried and then stir-fry in a sweet–sour ginger sauce. This dish can be served as an appetizer.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 250g fresh shiitake mushroom, washed, pat dry and sliced or cut into dangly strips
° 80g-100g tapioca flour
° salt and pepper, to taste
° oil, for deep-frying
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1-1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
° 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Sauce
° 100ml water
° 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
° 2 tablespoons black or brown sugar
° ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method
1. Place the mushrooms in a bowl. Add the tapioca flour, salt, pepper and mixed well.
2. Heat oil in a wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Place the mushrooms into the hot oil and fry in batches until lightly golden brown.
3. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper and set aside
4. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till golden brown.
5. Add the deep fried mushrooms and stir in the sauce mixture. Stirring occasionally until the sauce is slightly dry.
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds, transfer to a serving dish and serve.

Stir-Fried Mushroom Noodle

This is a simple and inexpensive, fairly quick and easy to prepare dish, but looks and tastes very impressive. Serve with pickled green chilli.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g canton Yee mee(noodle)
° 50g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 50g cardoncello mushrooms/king oyster mushroom, finely shredded
° 4 chinese dried mushrooms or shiitake mushroom, soaked and shredded
° 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
° 2-3 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
° 300-350ml water
° 15 mangetouts/snow peas (optional), trimmed
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Method
1. Blanch the mangetouts in a pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the ginger and fry till golden brown.
3. Add the carrot, mushrooms and stir-fry briskly for a moment. Add the water, vegetarian oyster sauce and yee mee, continue to cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the yee mee is tender.
4. Add the mangetouts, sesame oil and toss to mix. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Steamed Cardoncello Mushroom

Photographer: Little JFThis is an easy steamed dish without much work at all. This dish can be used as a substitute for the poached chicken that goes with Hainanese Chicken Rice. Alternatively, just wrap a piece of lettuce leaf around a slice of cardoncello mushroom and dip with chicken rice chilli, to eat.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 150g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 2 thin slices ginger
° 1½ tablespoons sesame oil
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Arrange the ginger and cardoncello mushrooms in a heatproof serving plate. Drizzle sesame oil and light soy sauce over the plate. Steam for 10 minutes.
2. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.