Sauteed Bok Choy and Mushrooms

Yesterday I made Arroz a’la Valenciana, and so for today, I thought I’d go meatless and make some veggies.  And just like Veggie Girl, I love bok choy, and her recent Bento Box Lunch post inspired me to make my own version. 

I was so good today that I did not even have rice with my veggies come dinner time.  Can you believe that, an Asian with no rice with her viand?  Well, truth be told, I was planning on having a scoop of ice cream for dessert, that’s why.  And yes, I did have a big scoop of cookies n cream.  Yeah, yeah, I know, I need to change my diet soon.  For that I envy Veggie Girl on her determination and discipline to eat more veggies.  Baby steps, GG, baby steps.

Anyway, I used straw mushrooms to add variety to this dish.  I bought the canned mushrooms and somehow it did not taste good.  Even my husband did not like the mushrooms that he pushed it to the side.  I would say that it had a plastic-y taste to it, as if it’s been stored in some cheap plastic container that you can actually taste the plastic.  This is my first time to cook with straw mushrooms, but I am sure that’s not how it’s supposed to taste.  Next time I should probably try shiitake mushrooms instead, if I can’t find fresh straw mushrooms.  The bok choy on the other hand was crisp and fresh, and it was still an enjoyable meal altogether.  -GG-

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 bok choys

12 pieces straw mushrooms

Dash of white pepper

1/8 teaspoon ginger powder

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water

Procedure:

1.  Heat up the oil on medium heat and sauté garlic for about 20 seconds.  Add the bok choy and mushrooms.

2.  Add ¼ cup water and cover the pan. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 30 seconds.

3.  Push the veggies aside and dissolve the ginger powder and white pepper in the pan juice. 

4.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the liquid.  Stir the liquid constantly until the pan juice thickens but still a bit runny.  Turn off the flame and mix the liquid with the veggies.  Serve immediately.

Tip:  You can also add cashew halves to give this dish a little crunch. Enjoy!