Chilli Mushroom Gravy

Heat oil in a wok or kadai. Add chopped onions or chopped spring onion whites. Stir fry them on medium heat till they become translucent. Add finely chopped ginger, finely chopped garlic and slit green chilies. Stir fry for a minute.

Add sliced or chopped bell pepper (capsicum) and finely chopped celery (optional). Stir fry for a couple of minutes.

Add chopped mushrooms. Stir fry on medium heat till the mushrooms leave the water and start to get browned. They will shrink in size too. This will take about 7-8 minutes.

When the mushrooms are getting cooked, mix cornflour with water. Stir and mix well. Keep aside.

The mushroom mixture should become dry and the mushrooms can be lightly browned. Add soy sauce and mix well. You can add the soy sauce less or more as per your preference. Also add green and red chilli sauces and mix very well. Then add freshly crushed black pepper (or pepper powder), sugar and salt as required. Add less salt as the sauces already have salt in them. Mix well. Add vegetable stock to the mushrooms. Mix well. Bring to a boil.

Add the corn starch paste. As soon as you add corn starch paste, mix very well. Simmer for a few minutes and let the chilli mushroom gravy thicken.

Switch off the flame and add rice vinegar (or rice wine or white vinegar). If using sweet rice wine or mirin, then reduce the sugar or skip it. Check the seasonings of mushroom chilli gravy and add soy sauce, sugar, salt or black pepper powder more as required. Mix very well.

Serve hot with fried rice, noodles, or steamed rice. Garnish with chopped spring onion. This spicy dish also goes well with bread or buns.