Stir-Fried Bell Peppers With Black Fungus
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If you're making this in the UK you can replace Jiafan Rice Wine with Jiaoxing rice wine (Waitrose), Maggi seasoning with soy sauce (organic, Planet Organic) and 'salad oil' with sesame oil (cold pressed, Planet Oranic). I used Arrowroot (Waitrose) instead of corn starch and threw in a nest of wholemeal noodles (Waitrose) to fill the dish out a bit. I bought the mushrooms dried in London's Chinatown, but I'm sure you could get them online. It was delicious!
About
Black fungus aka cloud ear, wood fungus, mouse ear, and jelly mushroom. It is mostly sold dried but is also available fresh. Wood fungus is prized in Chinese cuisine for its crunchy texture and therefore added to dishes only for the last few minutes of cooking. Delightful in salads, soups and stir-fries, it has no flavour of its own, but absorbs the seasonings it is cooked with. Dried fungus must be soaked in warm water prior to use. It swells to many times its size. Black fungus help reduce blood clot, preventing thrombosis, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, and cancer.