#ewew cooks (Low-Carb) Mushrooms & Eggs

For many of us, cutting out or limiting carbs is a lifelong endeavour. >_<  Some do it for health reasons, while others do it to reduce weight (or to keep their weight at a desired level).  It's easier said than done when rice is a staple in our lives (especially for us Chinese).  And then, there are noodles that's even harder to resist.

Like everyone else, I also try my best to reduce my consumption of carbs by eating less rice or no rice as much as possible.  But limiting noodles is way harder to do coz it's just not the same eating a bowl of ingredients without the noodles! >_<  The thing with me also is when I don't eat carbs, I feel hungry within the next 2 - 3 hours after eating (and, sometimes, my hands will shake)...and I have to quickly grab something to eat (preferably carbs!) to diffuse the situation.

Recently I stumbled upon one dish (that I cooked and ate without rice) which didn't make me hungry (until my next scheduled meal time)...and that was this low carb dish of Mushrooms & Eggs.  Well, I love mushrooms and eggs to begin with, so I thought why not put the two together and make a meal out of it.

I start with a non-stick pan with some olive oil on medium-high heat (not advisable for non-stick pans to use high heat as it can damage the non-stick surface).  If you're using a steel pan, perhaps you can go on high heat.  Add a glug of olive oil and drop your mushrooms in.  Scatter them into one layer so that the heat can sear the mushrooms properly.

I'm using fresh shiitake mushrooms here and seared them for a while first before adding in the shimeji mushrooms and garlic slices.  Season lightly.

After the mushrooms have been well seared, I add in the spring onions.  Don't forget to season your mushrooms and spring onions (lightly) again at this point.

Once the spring onions are nicely wilted, I cracked in two eggs.  As you can see, three eggs would have been better for the amount of mushrooms I had in the pan but I know I wouldn't be able to finish three eggs.

Then, I puncture the egg yolks so that it can run over the contents in the pan.  Season again (the eggs this time).  I feel that seasoning lightly at each layer of cook gives rise to a more well seasoned dish overall.

Then flip the eggs and cook the other side.....and it's pretty much done! ;)  If you're not a fan of spring onions, you can substitute with beansprouts which works pretty well too in this dish.

So simple and quick.  It's one of my favourite dishes to cook when I'm going low carb.  As I've mentioned before, it's difficult for me not to eat (some) carbs as I tend to go hungry very quickly.

This one dish, or should I say one ingredient, was able to stave off my hunger.  I'm not sure why but mushrooms tend to be hearty and filling.  Maybe that's why they're widely eaten by vegans and vegetarians as a meat replacement because of its meaty-like texture and filling nature.

As we all know, shiitake mushrooms have an intense flavour (even more intense if they're dried shiitake mushrooms) and, let's face it, they aren't as tasty as other mushrooms.  So, if I want to pay a little bit more, I would use fresh button mushrooms for this dish.

Now for those of you who tend to end up with soggy (button) mushrooms, let me share with you the way I do it to get perfect mushrooms each and every time in 3 simple steps.  I can't say these are tips on how to get the best sauteed mushrooms as I'm not sure if I'm doing it the right way but it's my way (from experience)...and, hopefull,y no more soggy mushrooms from now on with this method.

Advice #1 - To prep the mushrooms (I'm using swiss brown mushrooms here), first of all, do not wash them. Use a damn cloth and wipe off the little bit of dirt you find on the mushroom caps.  Advice #2 - Do not cut them too thinly.  I cut them into 3 - 4 slices depending on the size of the mushrooms (sometimes I'd cut them into quarters).  Into the pan on medium-high heat it goes with some olive oil.

Advice #3 - Resist the temptation to stir the mushrooms.  Let them sit and brown.  Once you see some browning happening, flip the mushrooms.  I noticed that stirring them around too vigorously (especially if they're cut thinly), the mushrooms tend to release water.  It is also said that brown mushrooms hold less water than white mushrooms, so you can try both to see if there's any difference.  I do remember getting soggy white mushrooms but that was a long time ago before realising how best to cook them, so I can't say for certain if it's due to them being white mushrooms since I now only cook brown mushrooms.

The whole process shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.  Once you're happy with the browning in your mushrooms, you can dish up and serve (with your big breakfast, for example).  I removed the mushrooms too (as I don't want them to sweat and become soggy) before I proceeded with the cooking of the rest of my dish.

Next, I sauteed the spring onions (like a lot!) and sliced garlic, separately this time.  I wanted to get the spring onions (as well as garlic) well charred.  

Then I returned the cooked button mushrooms back into the pan and cracked two eggs in.  Don't forget to season at every layer of the cook.

Flip the eggs and it's done! ;)  As we all know, button mushrooms can be expensive based on the price-to-quantity ratio.  So, for a cheaper alternative, you can use fresh shiitake mushrooms instead.

Not only does this dish make me feel full until my next scheduled meal, these button mushrooms also taste juicy and tasty.  I've always preferred swiss brown mushrooms to white button mushrooms as I find the former has a firmer texture with a much deeper, earthier and robust umami flavour than their white cousins.

This is a dish of eggs & mushrooms...and you can pretty well use just about any mushrooms you like such as white button, swiss brown, portobello, porcini, trumpet, shimeji or oyster mushrooms (but probably not enoki mushrooms, I wouldn't suggest that since they tend to release quite a bit of water).

Both mushrooms and eggs are considered a low GI and low GL food.  They're low in carbs and they won't spike your blood sugar levels (so they're highly recommended for people with diabetes).  For vegetarians who eat eggs, this can be an ideal dish for them too. ^_~