Spice is what we live for in South East Asia. Even when I go on family holidays I am equipped with curry or chilli powder/pastes. And someone will end up buying a large bottle of chilli crisp or hard core sambal along the way. It is gratifying now that the kids are older and they handle spicy foods like proper Singaporeans. But we definitely went through the phase of coaxing them to expand their palates and try out some spicy food. I remember kid#1 had to be given a target “to eat curry by his 10th birthday”. Which he did, to his credit. It was even harder with kid #2 who was extremely spice averse. This was the kid who grew up eating “white foods” like rice, bread or pasta alone. In fact for the longest time we saved so much money bringing her with us for restaurant meals because we just needed to throw the bread basket at her and she would be in bliss.
Fast forward almost 20 years later and the kids now rave about scissors cut curry rice in Beach Road or five alarm bell worthy Mala meals. They have far surpassed me in the spice stakes.
Sitting in my fridge are multiple bottles of sambal, chili sauce, 老干妈 chilli crisp and hot sauce. I also keep gochujang for whenever I need a Korean food fix. I love Korean food and all the side dishes that come alongside the main meal. This recipe was a quick invention based on what was available in the fridge.
Gochujang is a Korean chili paste that is made from chili powder, glutinous rice, malted barley and fermented soybean. It is NOT low carbohydrate. But all things considered the 1 tbsp of gochujang in this recipe is worth 6g carbohydrate which makes a reasonable once in a while treat. Reading off the ingredient list you get to understand why it’s really not easy to navigate eating low carb in certain Asian cuisines. I have the greatest difficulty with Thai food where the sweet-salty-sour flavor combination is so distinctive. Korean food is also challenging as most dishes have some sugar or starch added. Which is why I tend to cook at home from scratch as I can control the kind of sugar I add to the dish (yes I do depend on sugar substitutes).
These mushrooms hold up well to the sweet caramel-like sauce. It’s important not to overcook the mushrooms so that they do not turn soggy. Using firm mushrooms like king oyster mushrooms may also work better in this recipe.
The mushrooms were great as a side dish for my Korean night dinner; it would also work well for a light lunch over some cauliflower rice.
Spicy Korean Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 punnet of white or brown mushrooms (about 200g)
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 tbsp chopped spring onions for garnishing
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (rice vinegar would also work)
- 2 tbsp honey substitute (I used Pyure)
Sauce
Directions
- Cut the mushrooms into quarters.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and toast the sesame seeds lightly till slightly darkened and fragrant. Set aside.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together.
- Heat the saucepan and peanut oil over medium heat.
- Saute the mushrooms until just slightly softened (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add the sauce and continue to saute till the sauce has slightly thickened and caramelized.
- Plate the mushrooms and scatter both the toasted sesame seeds and spring onions on top.
Still Feeling Peckish 