Mushrooms - Quick, Easy and Healthy

Are you looking on the look for easy to cook, delicious, non-complicated and healthy dishes?  Do you always crack your mind on where to get certain 'complicated' ingredients which you know you will rarely use yet you need to purchase the entire bottle?  Are you looking for a receipe that provides many health benefits? 

Mushrooms is one such vegeable (or herb) which provides many health benefits.  In chinese cooking, most times the "Black Mushroom" (Fragrant Shitake or Premium Shitake) mushroom is used to compliment dishes eg : with sea cucumber, with different vegetables, with meats.  They are known to stimulate appetite, clear colds, benefits the digestive system and expel phlegm.  In Asian culture, they are also thought to have medicinal properties including treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stomach ulcers, diabetes, obesity etc.  The Premium Shitake mushroom are almost the same as the normal shitake mushroom.  They however have a thicker flesh than the usual ones. They are high in protein, low in fat and contains vitamin B2 - which helps healing dry skin.  I heard of a receipe which involves boiling 10 premium shitake mushrooms in 10 bowls of water and continue boiling in low heat, till it evaporates to 2 bowls of water.  This mushroom soup is said to burn fat and reduce cholestoral.  Drinking this on empty stomach is said to assist in weight loss. (I have yet to try it though).  No harm trying since this is really just mushroom + water.

I especially love this simple mushroom dish :

Ingredients :
Whole packet of Shitake mushroom, Garlic, Oyster Sauce and water (yes thats it!)

How to :
Soak mushrooms in luke warm water for 1/2hr before cooking.  Cut off the stem.  Cut garlic in small pieces. and YES, we are ready to cook! Ain't this easy?
Saute garlic till they turn light brown.  Add in all the mushroom, add in 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce.  Add 2 bowls of water.  Simmer for 30-45mins till mushroom turn extremely soft and we are left with just 1/2bowl of mushroom sauce.  You can eat this with anything- noodles, rice or even on its own.  The best part about this dish is that you can refregerate it and keep for up to a week. Use this to add flavour to your food as and when needed!  I love this and can gobble up 1/2 a dozen on its own!

Yummy Mushroom Pot