Chilli Garlic Mushrooms

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! Are you vegetarian? Do you have vegetarian friends? Do any of your friends follow the age old tradition of not eating meat on certain days because they were told not to but have no idea why? Do affirmative answers to any of these questions hold you or your friends back from cooking what you want? Do you have to shroud your cravings in a veil of secrecy because you are afraid of offending someone? Do you find yourself 'settling' for something despite wanting something else on account of these constraints? Yes? Well tough. Different people do different things. But that's no excuse for you to feel hard done by. Adapt!

Now that the bad cop routine is over, let's take you over to the good cop. You know we all have days when we want to have 'something nice' for dinner. My roommate, Ms. Popularity, was no different. I'd ask, 'What do you want for dinner?', only to encounter the very cryptic, 'Something nice!'. To a hardcore meat eater like me, those 2 words would conjure up visions of chilli chicken and pork chops and thai chicken curry and juicy prawns. As I'd begin planning with gusto, I'd remember what day it was. Tuesday. Vegetarian day. (Tinkling sound as my dreams shatter.) But then I discovered that twisting a few recipes this way and that, yeidled results that were just as good and didn't really feel like 'settling'. Take today's recipe for example; you get the Chinese food you love without compromising on flavours and you get the satisfaction of knowing you've made someone happy. After all, that is the whole point of cooking right? To make people happy? 

The best part is, there isn't a whole lot of prep required and it cooks in 15 minutes. Dry it out to eat as a starter or eat it as it is with a side of noodles or fried rice. Either way, everyone's a winner!

For Chilli Garlic Mushrooms, you will need the following:

Mushrooms                       300 gms (Big meaty ones if you can wangle them)
Green chillies                    8-10 (Use fewer if you don't want it too hot)
Garlic                               4 cloves
Ginger                              1 inch piece
Green pepper                    1/4
Red pepper                       1/4
Onion                               1 small
Vegetable stock cubes        2
Cornflour                          1 tbsp
Soy sauce                          big splash
Vinegar                             not so big splash
Sugar                                pinch or two
Oil

Prep:

1. Cut the mushrooms into quarters.
2. Take the top off the chillies and slice them vertically.
3. Mince the garlic.
4. Peel and mince the ginger. (I just toss the ginger and garlic in a grinder and wazz it up.)
5. Cut the green and red peppers into respectable sized squares.
6. Slice the onion into big pieces.
7. Dissolve the stock cubes in a cup of water.
8. Dissolve the cornflour in a small cup of cold water. (Cold. Not warm. Not room temperature. Cold.)

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Toss in the chillies.
5. Pop in the ginger and garlic.
6. Breathe in the gorgeous aroma.
7. Cook until the garlic goes light brown.
8. Add in the vegetable stock.
9. Bring to a boil.
10. Drop the heat down to low.
11. Slide in the onion.
12. Toss in the mushrooms.
13. Plop in the peppers.
14. Splash in the soy sauce. (Add more if you want it darker.)
15. Sprinkle in the vinegar. (You don't need to add salt. The stock cube, soy sauce and vingear have enough.)
16. Slap a lid on for a couple of minutes.
17. Tick tock.
18. Take the lid off.
19. Add in the dissolved cornflour a little at a time to thicken the sauce.
20. Pinch in the sugar and cook for a few minutes until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
21. Turn the gas off.
22. Serve with noodles or fried rice (or by itself).
23. Stuff face.
24. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish. 

Tip: Don't overcook your peppers. They don't taste very nice if they get soggy.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!