Mushrooms Teriyaki

Although we are still celebrating Chanukah, people, I’m kinda fried out. I decided to post a healthier recipe instead of the cheese danish I made for my mom (another post another time) to sorta balance out the fried stuff.

This is a quick and easy recipe but uses lots of mushrooms which sink somewhat and while you start off with what seems an inordinate amount, actually after cooking down is just right for four mushroom lovers to devour. Honestly, I can eat the whole thing myself but then DH would be mad. We don’t want that, do we?

So start off by cleaning your mushrooms. Pick the mushrooms by checking their bottom seal, for lack of a better word where the stem connects to the cap. Preferably choose mushrooms that are tightly closed. Those are both freshest and easiest to clean. Pat dry and set aside in a bowl. Then wash and pat dry (you’re gonna sautee so it needs to be dry. Okay, it’s like frying but barely any oil) your pepper, I much prefer bell/red peppers and julienne them, meaning slice into strips but try to make them thin since you want them to cook quickly.

And in the box are my prepped sauteed onions, but since you are sauteeing anyway, you can use a fresh onion. See what I mean about the closed mushrooms? These were fresh and beautiful. Another nice part of this, no slicing the mushrooms, you will cook them whole.

Okay, take out a pan and the oil and heat till oil is hot (but not too) and take a small onion, peeled and chopped and put first into the pan. There is method to my madness, pepper goes in second (root veg always needs the most time) and mushroom last since you are NOT cooking them down to brownness just barely cooking them. So cook the onion in the oil till dark yellow and put the pepper in and stir about.

As the pepper softens up a bit, about 3-4 minutes, add the teriyaki sauce, crushed garlic, chopped ginger and salt. Stir, stir, stir. Give it another 3 minutes or so and add your mushrooms. Now note that you cook the mushrooms 3-4 minutes, till fully coated in the sauce and just starting to cook down a bit like so:

That’s it folks! Immediately take off the fire since if you let them continue to cook they give up the mushroom liquid and get gushy. That’s a professional term. Mind you, they’ll still taste good but won’t look as nice and the texture is different. So keep an eye on them.

Serve hot or cold (yup, delish either way) as a hot side dish or a cold salad. Scoop up with some pita or challah and sigh with bliss.

Mushrooms Teriyaki

1 small onion peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 large red pepper washed, patted dry and julienned (sliced thin into strips) finely
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 clove garlic crushed or finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
3/4-1 teaspoon salt
30 medium mushrooms cleaned and patted dry

Directions:

Take your chopped onion and sautee in the oil in a pan. When the onion gets medium yellow, add the sliced red pepper and continue to sautee about 3-4 minutes or so, pepper should look a bit wilted. Add the teriyaki sauce, garlic, ginger and salt and stir all about for about 2 more minutes. Add the mushrooms all at once and cook, stirring for about 3-4 more minutes or till mushrooms get a light brown color, cook down a bit (just a bit!!) and are coated with the sauce. Remove pan from heat and serve hot or cold to hungry mushroom lovers.