This recipe is inspired by Fuchsia Dunlop’s recipe in her book ‘The Food of Sichuan’.
Serves 2
Ingredients
250g shiitake mushrooms, sliced into long and thin pieces
75g potato starch/cornflour
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
8 dried red chillies, seeds removed
oil of choice
1 tsp whole Sichuan peppers
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1” piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 ½ tsp chilli bean paste
1 tsp sesame oil
For the Sauce
½ tsp caster sugar
¾ tsp potato starch/cornflour
1 tsp light soy sauce
¼ tsp dark soy sauce
¼ tsp
Method
– Add the potato starch to a large bowl and mix in the shiitake mushrooms. Make sure they are thoroughly coated.
– Heat 1 cup of oil in a large wide-based pan. Add the mushrooms and cook on high heat until golden. Transfer to a bowl lined with kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil.
– Add 2-3 tbsp of oil to a hot wok. Add the Sichuan pepper and dried chillies and cook for 1 minute.
– Turn off the heat and add the chilli bean paste and cook for 1 minute.
– Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Mix well.
– Turn the heat back on and add the ginger, garlic, and green pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
– Add the mushrooms and stir fry for 1 minute. Pour over the sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil. Stir through.
Time to plate it up and tuck in!