Chinese Mushrooms with Mixed Vegetables Recipe

This is actually an original recipe, not a hack of any kind. It was inspired by my craving for Chinese mushrooms. I don’t know if there are different varieties of Chinese mushrooms, but I love these ones. You can buy them dried and packaged in any Asian grocery stores or at the Asian sections of food shops. In Australia, there’s a decent amount of Asian goods in all food shops like Woolworths and Coles. So, you can easily find these mushrooms.

Anyway, here are the ingredients:

1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
a small portion of sliced ginger
200-250 grams of mince pork (optional, if you wish to do a vegetarian dish)
6-8 pieces of whole Chinese mushrooms
1 small bunch of bok choy (or baby bok choy), cut in to serving size
1 small carrot, sliced
2 tbsps of oyster sauce
1 tsp of light soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1.5 to 2 cups of water
1-2 tsps vegetable oil
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

Step-by-Step Cooking Procedure:

1) Thoroughly clean and then soak the Chinese mushrooms in the water. Set aside for at least 30 minutes. Longer, if you’re using bigger mushrooms. Don’t throw the water, you will use this later as “stock”. It’s always good to use this for a better flavour of your dish.
2) In a wok or pan, heat the vegetable oil.
3) Saute the onions and garlic.
4) Add the mince pork, if you’re using it. Brown the mince slightly. You can also add a bit of salt and pepper to help flavour the pork.
5) Add the Chinese mushrooms.
6) Once the mushrooms are a bit tender, add the sliced carrots. Stir quickly.
7) Then, add the bok choy. Stir quickly.
8) Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce, then stir.
9) Add the “stock” (water where the mushroom was soaked in). Stir and then add the chicken or vegetable stock cube. Stir again and make sure the stock cube dissolves properly. You can also add salt and pepper, if needed.
10) Simmer for 5 minutes.
11) Dish out and serve with plain white (jasmine) rice.

Suggested Dip: Soy Sauce with Chillis