General Tso Shrimp (of the Woods)

We found another haul of Shrimp of the Woods on a beautiful ridge hike in Eastern Pennsylvania (Pinnacle and Pulpit), and we brought about 3.5 lbs home with us! From our Sweet and Sour Shrimp (of the Woods) recipe, we knew that coating and frying the mushrooms was a good tactic….and since we still had some Sweet and Sour sauce, we decided to go with Asian flavours again, this time with a General Tso dish!

We served our stir fry over white rice…but fried rice would work well too. Regardless of what you choose, if you have access to these mushrooms (and you’ve double checked that you have the mushroom you think you do), this is a dish you should absolutely consider making!

Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients:

• Shrimp of the Woods Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Corn Starch
• For your Sauce:
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Hoison or Sweet and Sour Sauce
  • Soy Sauce
  • White Sugar
  • Ground Ginger
  • Red Pepper Flakes
  • Garlic Powder

Method:

• Combine your sauce ingredients into a pan. Stir to combine, and bring to a low simmer to thicken.
• Cut your broccoli into florets, and steam them. Then, set aside.
• Cut the dirty/woody ends off your mushrooms, and then wash them under tepid water. We have found an old toothbrush to be the best way to remove the dirt, so we always keep a “kitchen toothbrush” in our utensil drawer.
• When your mushrooms are washed, cut them into pieces the size you will want in your stir fry.
• Heat some oil in a deep bottomed pan. We used a cast iron frying pan, but a Dutch Oven would have worked really well too.
• Pour some corn starch into a large bowl. Put your first batch of mushrooms in your cornstarch, and toss to coat.
• Move your first batch of coated mushrooms into your hot oil, and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until crispy and golden brown.
• As your first batch cooks, coat your second batch, and when your first batch comes out of the pan, set it aside, and start frying the next set.
• Keep coating and cooking sequentially until all of your mushrooms are cooked.
• When all of your mushrooms are cooked, and your sauce has thickened, heat some oil in a wok.
• When your oil’s hot, add your steamed broccoli, and sauté for a minute or two. Then, add in your fried mushrooms, and cook for another minute to warm up.
• Pour your sauce over your Shrimp of the Woods and broccoli, and stir to coat.
• Plate, devour, and enjoy!