Braised Bamboo Shoots with Straw Mushrooms
A vegetarian Cantonese dish: winter bamboo shoots are cut into chunks, fried until tender, then braised together with straw mushrooms, yielding a fresh, sweet, rich, and crisp result.
Ingredients
Winter bamboo shoots (peeled, trimmed, washed, cut into 3cm-long olive-shaped pieces)
1500g
Dried straw mushrooms (remove stems, soak in water, wash, drain)
50g
Cooked ham (sliced)
25g
Pork belly (sliced for stir-frying and seasoning)
500g
Vegetable oil (for frying bamboo shoots)
500g (100g used for frying)
MSG (for seasoning)
to taste
Refined salt (for seasoning)
to taste
Sesame oil (for seasoning)
to taste
Wet starch (for thin sauce thickening)
to taste
Second soup (for braising)
to taste
Instructions
1
Prepare winter bamboo shoots
Peel, trim and wash the winter bamboo shoots, cut them into 3cm-long olive-shaped pieces with a knife, fry them over low heat in oil until cooked, then remove and set aside. Slice the ham and set aside.
2
Braise and finish the dish
Remove the stems from the straw mushrooms, soak in water, wash, and drain. Slice the pork belly, stir-fry with salt, then add second soup, bamboo shoot pieces, and straw mushrooms, braise for about 30 minutes. Remove the pork belly, add MSG and sesame oil, thicken with a thin starch slurry, pour over the dish, transfer to a serving plate, and place the sliced ham on top to serve.
