Fried cucumber with wood ear mushroom

Source: Fuchsia Dunlop

Ingredients: 

• a handful of dried wood ear mushrooms (about 100g after soaking)
• 100g cucumber
• 1 spring onion, trimmed
• 1 Sichuanese pickled chilli or 0,5 fresh red chilli
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp peeled, sliced garlic
• 1 tbsp peeled, sliced ginger
• salt
• light soy sauce
• 0,25 tsp potato flour, mixed with 1 tsp cold water

Method:

Pour hot water from the kettle over the mushrooms and leave to soak for 30 minutes

Cut the cucumber section lengthways into thin slices. Lay these flat on a chopping board and, holding the knife at an angle, cut them into lozenge-shaped slices. Drain the wood ears and, if they are large, break them into bite-sized pieces. Cut the spring onion and pickled or red chilli on the diagonal into 'horse ears'

Heat a seasoned work over a high flame. Add the oil, then the garlic, ginger, pickled chilli or red chilli and the spring onion and stir-fry briefly until you can smell their fragrances. Then add the cucumber and mushrooms and stir-fry until everything is piping hot.

Add 1 tbsp water, season with a little salt and light soy sauce to taste, then pour in the flour mixture, stirring vigorously as you do so. Stir a couple of times more, then serve.