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Meaty with a dash of veggies

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Mushrooms Vegetables Lunch / Dinner Side Dishes

Cucumber and mushroom stir fry

Published: 11.11.2018 ยป Last updated: 07.16.2022

Yes, cucumber can be stir fried! Sprinkle with salt, rinse and drain to remove excess water before cooking this delicious vegan cucumber and mushroom stir fry.

Cucumber and mushroom stir fry sprinkled with sesame seeds

Donโ€™t let the meagre amount of ingredients fool you into thinking that this vegan dish couldnโ€™t be flavorful at all! It is very tasty and highly aromatic too. And, for added aroma and texture, a bit of toasted sesame seeds go a long way.

Tossing sliced cucumber with salt

The first step is prepping the cucumbers. Peel (or don’t if the skin is thin anyway), slice, place in a bowl, add salt and toss well. Do this before cutting the mushrooms and chopping the garlic to give the cucumber sufficient time for the salt to draw out excess water from the cucumber.

Don’t worry about the amount of salt that you toss with the cucumber. You will rinse the cucumber slices before you stir fry them. Optionally, you may pass the rinsed cucumber in a salad spinner to remove water that won’t just drip off if you dump the cucumber slices in a strainer.

Shiitake and garlic on chopping board

We use only shiitake caps for stir fries because we find the stems too fibrous. If you’re lucky enough to get really small shiitake, the stems should be more tender and you don’t need to discard them. If your mushrooms are two inches in diameter or larger, cut the caps into halves or quarters.

The garlic has to be peeled, of course, but there really is no strict rule as to how to cut the cloves. Chopped, minced or sliced, the garlic will flavor the dish beautifully.

Stir frying shiitake and cucumber

Heat sesame oil in a wok or frying pan, stir fry the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are almost done.

Throw in the cucumber and garlic, stir fry for a minute, add rice wine and continue cooking over high heat until the mixture is almost dry.

Cucumber and mushroom stir fry in wok

And that’s it! With the cooking time no more than five minutes, fixing a meal on a busy day or night shouldn’t be a problem at all.

Cucumber and mushroom stir fry

Connie Veneracion
If using dried shiitake, soak in warm water for 20 minutes or longer to rehydrate before cutting. The exact soaking time depends on the size of the mushrooms, specifically, the thickness of the caps.
Cucumber and mushroom stir fry in two white bowls
Print
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 3 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 large cucumbers
  • 1 tablespoon rock salt - plus more to complete the dish
  • 6 to 8 shiitake
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 generous pinch ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine - I used mirin
  • ยฝ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions
 

  • Optionally, peel the cucumbers. Cut off the both ends and discard.
  • Halve the cucumbers and scrape off the seeds with a teaspoon.
  • Cut the deseeded cucumber halves into half inch slices.
  • Dump the cucumber slices into a bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon of rock salt. Toss well. Leave to soak while you prep the mushrooms and garlic.
  • Cut off the mushroom stems and discard. Cut the caps into slices or quarters. What the shape should be is entirely up to you.
  • Peel the garlic, smash and chop.
  • Rinse the cucumber slices well and drain.
  • Heat the sesame seed oil in a wok or frying pan.
  • Throw in the mushrooms and sprinkle with about a quarter teaspoon of salt and pepper. Stir fry for about two minutes.
  • Add the cucumber slices and garlic. Stir fry for a minute.
  • Pour in the rice wine. Continue stir frying until the thereโ€™s very little liquid left in the wok or frying pan.
  • Transfer the shiitake and cucumber stir fry to a platter or individual bowls. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Notes

This cucumber and mushroom stir fry is based on a recipe from NHK World-Japan.
Keyword Mushrooms, Stir Fry
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Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

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