There are two kinds of people — those who hate mushrooms, and those who love mushrooms. Used widely in south Asian food, the mushroom’s musty flavour and heady aroma make it a great accompaniment for stir-fry and salads. Interestingly, it is also known to add a fifth taste called umami. Our expert chef whips up a simple mushroom signature dish and a reader sends in the recipe for a crisp mushroom bonda.
Mushroom Cheung Fun
Recipe by: Chef Stanley Lum Wah Cheok, head chef for India, KA Hospitality’s Yauatcha and Hakkasan
Preparation time: 25-30 minutes
Serves: Two
Ingredients
* Shiitake mushrooms: 40g
* Oyster mushrooms: 40g
* Shimeji mushrooms: 40g
* Cheung Fun mix batter: 120g
* Cheung Fun soya sauce: 10ml
* Salt to taste
Method
* Parboil the mushrooms and drain the water.
* Stir-fry to cook the parboiled mushrooms on the wok. Add salt to taste.
* Spread the Cheung Fun mix batter on the flat steamer to cook the batter.
* Spread the mushroom filling and roll the Cheung Fun Mix batter sheet over the mushroom filling.
* Remove from steamer and serve with light warm soya sauce
Winning reader recipe: Crispy Mushroom Bonda
Recipe by: Lakshmi Khemani
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: Two
Ingredients
* Button mushrooms (cut into two halves): 10-11
* Bread crumbs (put slices in a grinder): 2 slices
* Besan (gram flour): 2 tbsp
* Corn flour: 2 tbsp
* Red chili powder: 1/4 tbsp
* Ginger paste: 1/2 tbsp
* Salt to taste
* Oil for deep frying
Method
* In a bowl, add besan, red chili powder, salt, ginger paste, a little water and corn flour. Stir till all lumps dissolve.
* Make a soft batter and keep aside.
* Take one mushroom slice at a time and dip into corn flour mixture.
* Coat it with bread crumbs and place it on a plate.
* Heat oil in a pan on medium flame, and slide the bread crumbs coated mushrooms in the pan.
* Fry it till both sides turn golden brown.
* Serve hot with coriander chutney or tomato sauce.
