Chilli Mushroom Recipe

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

• 200 to 250 grams button mushrooms or baby portabella mushrooms
• 1 to 2 spring onions (small to medium-sized scallions), halved or quartered and the white layers removed (reserve greens for garnish) or 1 small to medium onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 green chilies – slit
• ¼ cup chopped capsicum chopped into squares or cubes (optional) – can use red or green, yellow or red bell peppers
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic cloves or 7 to 8 small to medium garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger or 1 inch ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (naturally brewed) or as required
• ½ tablespoon sesame oil or any neutral oil – for the sauce
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 to 2 teaspoons water
• ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or as required
• salt as required
• crushed black pepper as required
• oil – for shallow frying mushrooms, any neutral oil, as required

For Batter

• 5 to 6 tablespoons whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper or add as required
• salt as required
• ¼ to ⅓ cup water or add as required

Steps

Preparation

1. After rinsing the mushrooms and wiping them dry, trim their stalks.
2. Cut large mushrooms into quarters and medium ones into halves; leave small mushrooms whole.
3. Use all the ingredients in the batter group to make a batter that flows and has a medium consistency.

Frying mushroom

1. In a kadai or wok, heat oil for shallow-frying.
2. Dip each mushroom slice into the batter so that it is evenly coated.
3. Put the coated mushrooms into medium-hot oil and fry until lightly golden and crisp.
4. Work in batches, frying the batter-coated mushrooms and draining them on paper towels to take off excess oil.

Making chilli mushroom

1. Heat sesame oil, or your cooking oil of choice, in a separate wok, kadai or pan.
2. Put in the spring onion whites and capsicum; stir-fry for a minute over medium or high heat.
3. Follow with the finely chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies.
4. Continue stir-frying over high heat until the onion edges brown, reducing the heat if it becomes too strong.
5. Turn the heat down, add soy sauce, salt, sugar and black pepper, then stir-fry for half a minute.
6. Put the fried, batter-coated mushrooms into the sauce and stir over low to medium heat.
7. Over the mushrooms, sprinkle about 1 to 2 teaspoons water and ½ to ¾ teaspoons cornstarch.
8. Mix thoroughly and sauté for a minute or two, stirring continuously to give the mushrooms a glaze.
9. Turn off the heat. Serve the chili mushroom hot with vegetable fried rice, bread, roti or naan.
10. At serving time, garnish with the spring onion greens.