Pak Choy with Fresh Shiitake

A simple stir-fry greens with fresh shiitake mushrooms. Great as part of a meal with rice, or noodles. According to the author, dried shiitake mushrooms can be used instead. The dried shiitake have to be soaked first and precooked before using them in the recipe. I will try that the next time.

This dish is usually served in Chinese restaurants, though it is a richer version with glossy sauce made with some rich stock, thickened with some corn starch solution. Instead of pak choy, brocolli can be used instead. 

One of my favourite dishes when eating at Chinese wedding banquet.

Pak Choy With Fresh Shiitake
(adapted from "Every Grain Of Rice", by Fuchsia Dunlop)
300gm pak choy
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/4 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp potato flour mixed with 1 tbsp water
salt
3-1/2 tbsp cooking oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
an equivalent amount of ginger, peeled and sliced

Wash the pak choy, the cut each head lengthways into quarters. Slice off and discard the mushroom stalks and halve the caps. Combine the sugar with the potato flour mixture.

Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan (1 litre will do), add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tbsp oil, then blanch the pak choy and mushrooms briefly, just until the pak choy leaves have wilted, Drain and shake dry.

Add the remaining 3 tbsp of oil to a seasoned wok over a high flame, swirl it around, then add the garlic and ginger and stir a few times until you can smell their fragrances. Tip in the blanched mushrooms, and pak choy and stir a few times. Finally, add the potato flour mixture with salt to taste, give everything a good stir and serve.