My sister-in-law knows I’m an absolute foodie. I also am intrigued with growing my own vegetables and fruits (though I think that’s a one-way street!). So when she gave me a Back to the Roots Mushroom Kit as a present for Christmas, I knew I was going to have fun with it! Since it takes about 10-14 days to grow, depending on the conditions of the growing environment, I calculated when I should start them if I wanted to use them for the Spring Festival.
It was a super easy process, and the kit comes with everything you need. The first few days, I thought it ended up getting mold, but decided to wait and see a few days more. True enough, what was alien-looking at day two, by day four were tiny little mushrooms! The kids fought over who should spray it with water daily, and ended up agreeing to take turns. What a fun STEM activity! According to the package, you can try to get two harvests out of one bag, so after harvesting the first, we are now in the process of growing our second!
On to the recipe: this is such a versatile method of cooking, honestly, any vegetable you choose will taste great! If you end up choosing mushrooms, make sure you saute according to hardiness. Don’t skip this step. If you do, you’ll end up with pieces of soggy and undercooked mushrooms. Oh, and I would stay away from using enoki mushrooms for this dish, unless you add it all the way in the end after it’s been transferred to a casserole dish. I made the unfortunate decision to add it to an earlier version of this recipe, and though it tastes amazing, it didn’t look appetizing. The chestnuts are totally optional, but I like the nuttiness and the contrast in texture it lends to this dish.
Just remember, Spring Festival runs for two weeks! So the celebrating is not quite over yet!
Stir Fried Mushrooms with Chestnuts
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
2 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
150 g brown beech mushrooms
150 g container white beech mushrooms
250 g oyster mushrooms
500 g container king trumpet oyster mushrooms
1 lb large bok choy
120 g roasted and peeled chestnuts
Chopped scallions for garnish
Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions:
To prepare your mushrooms, first, wash all your mushrooms. Separate the clumps of beech mushrooms and oyster mushrooms by plucking, slicing or using your fingers. Set aside. Slice the bottoms of your king trumpet mushrooms, you’ll only want the tender parts. Chop them in half moon pieces.
In a pan with hot oil, sauté mushrooms according to the order of hardiness: king trumpet, beech mushrooms, and finally oyster mushrooms. Add butter and garlic powder and sauté further until butter has melted. Finally, add oyster sauce and chestnuts and stir.
Wash and pluck the leaves of bok choy. In a shallow casserole dish, arrange bok choy leaves to create a bed for your sauteed mushrooms. Pour mushrooms into your casserole and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired. Enjoy!
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