Spicy Long Beans with Sausage and 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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Mushroom For Today : Dried Shiitake Mushroom

For today, I'm sharing a stir-fry dish, Spicy Long Beans with Sausage and Mushrooms. This stir-fry dish is all about texture and flavour, the salty, sweet, and peppery accents, according to the author. 

All ingredients are cut to about the same size. There's long beans, dried shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, pickled Sichuan vegetable, minced meat and fresh coriander leaves. This recipes uses pickled Sichuan, usually sold as a large piece, the ones that is covered with chilli paste, which requires washing under running water to remove the chili paste before cooking, as they are very salty. Here, I have used the packet of ready-to-eat pickled Sichuan, which makes life easier, just use the veggies as it is, you just have to chop them smaller to about the same size as the other ingredients. I love eating it as it is, as they are not overly salty, a few pieces would not make it to the cooking pot!

Just as the author says, this dish is all about texture and flavour. For me, the textures are, the crunchiness from the long beans, the crisp from the pickled Sichuan, the chewiness from the mushrooms and the minced meat. As for flavour, saltiness from the pickled Sichuan, sweetness from the sausage and fragrance from the fresh coriander. Of course the correct amount of seasoning brings all the flavours comes together. This is a lovely dish, eaten with steamed white rice and would be great too, with plain congee. 

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.

Spicy Long Beans with Sausage and Mushrooms
(adapted from "Stir-Frying To The Sky's Edge", Grace Young)
8 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
1 bunch Chinese long beans (about 12 ounces)
2 ounces Sichuan preserved vegetable (about 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1/4 cup ground pork (about 2 ounces)
1 Chinese sausage, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup cilantro sprigs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1. In a medium shallow bowl soak the mushrooms in 3/4 cup cold water for 30 minutes or until softened. Drain and squeeze dry, reserving 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Cut off the stems and mince the mushrooms.
2. Trim 1/4 inch from the ends of the long beans. Cut the long beans into 1/4-inch-long pieces to make about 3 cups.
3. Rinse the preserved vegetable in cold water until the red chili paste coating is removed and pat dry. (I use ready-to-eat preserved Sichuan vegetable in a packet, so I used it directly, chopping it to pieces). Finely chop to make about 1/4 cup. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil. 
4. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil, add the pork and sausage. Using a metal spatula, break up the pork, and sitr-fry 1 minute or until the pork is no longer pink. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for 1 minute. Swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil, add the beans, and stir-fry 1 minute. Swirl in the 2 tablespoons reserved mushroom liquid. Cover and cook 30 seconds. Uncover and add the preserved vegetable, scallions, and cilantro. Swirl the soy sauce mixture into the wok. Sprinkle on the salt, sugar, and pepper and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until the pork and sausage are cooked and the vegetables are crisp-tender.

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