Carrot with Asparagus and shiitake mushrooms
Ingredients
The combo of mushrooms and some green vegetables is a very popular one in Chinese cooking, and
that’s
because it works every time. This stir fry uses shiitake mushrooms and asparagus, a lovely
Spring-ish
combo. Shiitakes are a great mushroom, savory and meaty, readily available, and with a great
slightly
chewy texture. Other mushrooms are also fair game. I like to use some of the sesame oil to sauté
the
vegetables, and keep some for drizzling over at the end, as the heat can diminish the rich sesame
flavor, so adding a bit more to serve keeps the wonderful nutty flavor strong. The toasted sesame
seeds
are optional, but they really take only an extra 2 minutes, and they make this simple dish look
and
taste a notch above everyday.
Other simple things you could do to bump up the flavor are adding a bit of minced garlic or
shallots to
the vegetables as you sauté them, and or some fresh minced ginger. Scallions are also nice
sprinkled on
at the end. And having said that, the simplicity of this dish is lovely, and it rounds out any
kind of
Asian meal beautifully.
Coocking :
Soak the asparagus in cold water for 2-3 hours, rinse and carefully squeeze out the water, cut
into
pieces 3-5 cm long. Put the carrots, cucumber, pepper in a bowl, sprinkle with a little vinegar,
mix and
leave for 5-10 minutes. Add to the vegetable a mixture of soy asparagus, Korean-style shiitake
mushrooms, parsley, green onions, vegetable oil, salt.
