Recipe of the Week: Stir-Fried Wild Mushrooms with Snap Peas in Oyster Sauce

For many people February is a time of cocooning and quiet. For this Treehugger it is the beginning of the family birthday cycle. Mother, daughter, myself, son and grandmother (who will be 102) all celebrate birthdays within the next few weeks. That is a lot of celebrating and a lot of rich food. On the off party days we think about making something simple, easy and delicious. We usually steam or lightly sauté vegetables and serve them plainly, but when we took the time to do something different the family was happy with the outcome.

Stir-Fried Wild Mushrooms with Snap Peas in Oyster Sauce

½ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and lightly rinsed
½ pound oyster mushrooms, stems trimmed and lightly rinsed
½ pound cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and lightly rinsed

Seasonings

1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger

2 ½ tsp canola or corn oil
1 pound snap peas, ends snapped and veiny strings removed, rinsed and drained (if snap peas are unavailable substitute snow peas)
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp rice wine or sake
½ tsp salt or to taste

Oyster Sauce (mix together)

3 ½ tbsp good quality oyster sauce
1 ½ tbsp rice wine or sake
1 ¼ tsp sugar
½ tsp sesame oil
½ cup vegetable broth or water
1 tsp cornstarch

1. With a sharp knife cut all the mushrooms to a uniform size.
2. Heat a wok or heavy skillet until very hot, add 1 teaspoon of the oil and heat until hot. Add the snap peas, minced garlic, rice wine or sake and toss lightly over high heat about 1 ½ minutes, until the peas are just tender (snow peas will take slightly less time). Remove from pan
3. Reheat the pan and the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons oil until very hot. Add the Seasonings and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and toss lightly with a spatula over high heat about one minute. Add the premixed Oyster Sauce and toss lightly to thicken it, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Scoop the mushrooms and sauce into the peas. Serve immediately.

6 servings

::A Spoonful of Ginger at Amazon