Quick Braised Mushrooms

Little Thumbs Up : Baking and Cooking event, selected ingredient for the month of May is "MUSHROOMS"

Little Thumbs Up, is an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen from my little favourite D.I.Y. , where an ingredient is selected each month and everyone is welcome to join in by using the selected ingredient either in your bakes or in your cooking pot. I am the host for this month, and my selected ingredient is "MUSHROOMS". Please do join us, cook or bake any recipes using Mushrooms as one of its ingredient, post it in your blog within this month, (only new and current posts), and link to Little Thumbs Up, in the thumbnail linky which is provided at the bottom of this post. To find out more details on Little Thumbs Up, please click here.

While this month's theme is MAY : MUSHROOMS, the selected ingredient for June is Curry Powder or Paste and will be hosted by Everybody Eats Well In Flanders. Cook  or bake any of your favourite curry dish, and link that up in June which shall start on 4th June.

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Mushrooms For Today : White Buna Shimeji, Brown Buna Shimeji and Fresh Shiitake 

Buna Shimeji Mushrooms used to be very expensive some years back, but now these are more affordable, buying from the morning market is cheaper than if we buy them from the supermarkets.  I used to buy from the supermarkets until I've discovered that the morning market are selling these mushrooms at a cheaper price. I bought the White Buna Shimeji at RM3.00 per pack, while the Brown Buna Shimeji is RM2.50, why the price difference? According to the seller, the white ones tastes better and crunchier than the brown. Really?

There are over 20 species of Shimeji Mushrooms, Buna Shimeji one of them. They are sometimes known as Beech Mushrooms. These mushrooms have a delicately mild flavour and are great in stir-fries, and are usually added last, in a soup or stews, to maintain their crisp texture. I find these mushrooms very cute, lovely to look at! 

My original plan was to use these Shimeji mushrooms for other dish, but somehow they ended up in this braised mushroom dish! I usually cook this dish using oyster mushrooms with a mixture of some sugar snap peas and carrots. But since the Shimeji mushrooms have been in my fridge for a couple of days already, I decided to use them for this simple dish, along with a packet of fresh shiitake mushroom.

This is really a simple dish, but nice, eaten with rice, along with some other dishes. 

I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up event, hosted by Joyce, kitchen flavours, organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen for my little favourite D.I.Y.

To join us, simply bake or cook any recipes using the ingredient for this month MUSHROOM.  Submit your post by linking to the thumbnail linky provided at the bottom of this post. 

• Your submission must be a current and new post.
• Mention Little Thumbs Up in your post, and submit your post to the thumbnail linky to the host of this month, Joyce from kitchen flavours, and link to Bake For Happy Kids, and my little favourite D.I.Y. 
• Feel free to display Little Thumbs Up badge in your post.
• Last date of linking will be on 31st May 2013.

Quick Braised Mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1-1/2" ginger, chopped finely
1 fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped finely
1/2 cup chopped spring onions, separate the white and the green
2 tbsp oil
150gm White Buna Shimeji Mushroom
150gm Brown Buna Shimeji Mushroom
200gm fresh Shiitake Mushroom
1/4 cup water
1 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
pinch of salt
pinch of white pepper powder
2 tsp cornflour dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

1. Clean the mushroom : For both the Shimeji Mushrooms, cut off the base of the cluster, leaving each mushroom as individual. Rinse and drain. For Shiitake, discard stems. Wash caps under running water, gently remove any dirt. Drain.
2. Heat oil in saucepan or wok. Saute the chopped garlic and ginger till fragrant and starting to brown. Add in the chopped fresh chilli, white part of the chopped spring onions. Stir for a few seconds, add in the Shiitake mushrooms, stir, add in water, chicken stock powder, oyster sauce, pinch of salt, white pepper powder, to taste. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
3. Add in Shimeji mushrooms, stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chopped green spring onions. 
4. If dish is a little watery, thicken with some cornflour solution, optional. 
5. Serve to a serving dish and serve hot.