Stir-Fried Jianshouqing Boletes

Ingredients

• 500 g fresh boletes (jianshouqing, or firm ceps), sliced 4 mm thick
• 1 whole head of garlic, about 10 cloves, sliced
• 8 dried red chillies, snipped in half
• 3 green chillies, sliced
• 5 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 0.5 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 small handful mint leaves

Before you cook

• Wipe the boletes clean with a damp cloth rather than washing them, and trim any soft or wormy patches.
• Slice the mushrooms 4 millimetres thick, no thinner, so they do not collapse in the pan.
• Peel and slice the whole head of garlic.
• Snip the dried chillies in half and shake out most of the seeds.
• Slice the green chillies and pick the mint leaves.

Steps

1. Heat the rapeseed oil in a wok over high heat until it smokes faintly, then let it cool for 20 seconds.
2. Add the sliced garlic and the dried chillies and fry for 45 seconds, until the garlic turns pale gold.
3. Tip in all the mushroom slices at once and spread them across the wok.
4. Fry without stirring for 2 minutes, so the undersides colour.
5. Toss the mushrooms and add the salt.
6. Keep stir-frying over high heat for a further 10 minutes, tossing every 30 seconds, until the mushrooms have shed their water, shrunk and started to brown at the edges.
7. Taste one slice to confirm it is fully cooked with no raw, springy centre, and keep frying if it is not.
8. Add the green chillies and the white pepper and toss for 1 minute.
9. Splash in the soy sauce around the rim of the wok and toss once.
10. Throw in the mint leaves, toss twice and turn everything onto a warm plate.
11. Serve at once with plain rice.