Braised Mushrooms Recipe

Braised Mushrooms Recipe

200g top-quality dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in

  2 cups water overnight

4 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil

8 slices ginger

2 tablespoons Chinese yellow wine or hua teow jiu

1 liter water

1 teaspoon corn flour, mixed with 2 tablespoons water to form

  a paste, optional

Marinade:

(to be used on mushrooms at least 12 hours before cooking)

50g ginger, pounded finely and squeezed for juice

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese yellow wine or hua teow jiu

2 teaspoons good-quality dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon lard, optional

Seasoning:

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl except sesame oil and lard (optional).  Soak mushrooms in the marinade, adding sesame oil and lard last.  Leave overnight in the fridge.  Squeeze marinated mushrooms to remove excess liquid.  Cut off stalks and add to the excess marinade.  Set caps aside.  Heat 4 tablespoons lard in a wok.  Sauté ginger slices until fragrant and slightly browned.  Add mushrooms and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes over high heat until lightly crispy.  Dribble yellow wine along the sides of the wok so that it gets "cooked" before reaching the mixture.  Add mushroom stalks with the water and all the seasoning ingredients.  Bring to the boil and turn heat down to low.  Simmer for 2 to 3 hours until mushrooms are plumped up and sauce thickens.  Add corn flour paste (optional) if you want sauce thickened further, stir well and bring mixture to the boil.  When ready, serve on a bed of lightly-sautéed lettuce leaves or kailan.  These mushrooms are also delicious eaten on their own as a cold appetizer.