Free Food Recipes

Ingredients

• 15 large Chinese dried mushrooms
• 2 eggs
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) corn flour
• 225 g (1/2 lb) chicken breast
• 45 ml (3 tablespoons) chicken stock
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) soy sauce
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) dry sherry
• 2 slices root ginger
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) chicken fat
• 7 ml (1/2 tablespoon) corn flour
• 50 g (2 oz) lean-and-fat pork
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
• 45 ml (3 tablespoons) lard (blended in 45 ml (3 tablespoons) water or stock)
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) hoisin sauce
• 30-45 ml (2-3 tablespoons) coarsely chopped Yunnan ham or other if not available
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) coarsely chopped spring onion
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) sesame oil

Serve 6-8

** Free Food Recipes **

Method:

1. Choose the mushrooms carefully so that they are of even size and shape. Soak them for 30 minutes and remove the stalks. Beat the egg with the corn flour, rub half the mixture inside the mushroom caps.

2. Mince the chicken and pork finely and add the salt arid the remaining half of the egg and corn flour mixture. Divide the chicken and pork mix into 15 portions, shape each portion into a small ball and press each ball to the inside of a mushroom. Press the stuffing flat, ensuring that the meat is well stuck to the mushrooms. Brush the top of tile meat with oil.

3. Heat the lard and remaining oil in a large flat frying pan. Place the stuffed mushrooms, one by one, stuffed-side down in the hot fat of the pan. Sauté over a medium heat for 3 minutes. Using a fish slice, turn over the stuffed mushrooms. Continue to sauté over a low heat for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce in a smaller pan by heating the chicken fat over a medium heat, then add the ginger, stock, spring onion, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sherry and ham. Stir over a high heat for 45 seconds. Add the corn flour mixture and stir until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle the sauce with sesame oil.

5. Transfer the stuffed mushrooms one by one on to a well-heated level dish. Pour the sauce from the pan over each of the mushrooms, and serve.

Note: It is an easier dish to prepare than it sounds, but it is always effective. The usual way of arranging the mushrooms on the dish is to arrange 5 mushrooms stuffed-side up, ringed by 10 mushrooms stuffed-side down.