Mushrooms. Not everyone likes them. I do. Any and all kinds of mushroom. Among the widely available and affordable ones, shiitake mushroom is among my favorites. Shiitake mushrooms are “meaty” and are, therefore, a very ideal addition to vegetarian dishes. Like this green beans and mushrooms with caramelized onions which I served as a side dish to a spicy pork rib dish which I’ll write about later. I’m more excited to share this one because it turned out very well.
As the title says, this is a dish of green beans and mushrooms with caramelized onions. You can change the proportion between the mushrooms and green beans so that you have more green beans than mushrooms. You may also adjust the proportion between sweet and sour to suit your taste. And you can add more than a tablespoonful of chili sauce if you prefer a spicier dish.
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions (or one large), halved then thinly sliced
- salt
- 200 grams green beans ends and sides trimmed, cut on the bias into 2-inch lengths
- 2 large shiitake mushrooms or about 4 medium-sized ones, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons vinegar
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce
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Heat 2 tbsps. of oil in a pan. Add the onion slices, sprinkle with a little salt and cook gently over medium heat until softened and lightly browned. This will take about 10 minutes with occasional stirring. You can use those 10 minutes to prepare the rest of the ingredients.
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Heat about 4 cups of water in a pan with 1 tbsp. of salt. When the water boils, add the green beans. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes then scoop out and dump into a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking immediately. Drain.
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The onions should be about done by this time. Scoop out, place in a bowl and keep warm.
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Add the remaining tablespoonful of oil to the pan where the onions were cooked. Add the mushrooms and cook for about a minute. Pour in the vinegar, add the sugar, the chili sauce and a bit more salt. Cook over high heat until the sauce reduces and thickens a bit.
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Add the cooked green beans to the mushrooms. Cook just until heated through.
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Transfer the cooked mushrooms and green beans to a serving plate. Top with the caramelized onions.
