Thai Mushroom Couscous

I came across the base of this in a vegan cookbook.  It was titled "mushroom couscous," and it looked pretty darn good.  However, upon making the it per the instructions it was pretty lackluster.  Flavorless?  MMM.... yep.

OK, so here is my updated rendition for the file - with a Thai splash.

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (eyeballed it)
1/3 cup of red onion
4-5 garlic cloves diced
1/2 oz. of dried shitake mushrooms chopped
1/2 oz. of dried portabello mushrooms chopped
5-6 fresh portabello mushrooms chopped
5 cups water
2 cups pearl couscous (aka Israeli couscous)
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 of red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 green onions chopped
3-4 sun dried tomato pieces


Spices:

* garlic salt (I added a couple good shakes)
* ground black pepper (again, I wasn't shy)
* 2 teaspoons of Thai chili paste (red)
* 2-3 doses of coconut aminos (soy sauce will do too)

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat (I used a dutch oven).  Add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant.  (about 2-3 minutes).  Add the dried mushrooms and toss to coat.  Carefully add the water (it will splash and steam a bit).  Bring to a boil.  Then, reduce to a simmer and simmer for 5 min.

Stir in the couscous and simmer for 5-7 min until tender and the water is starting to boil down and become absorbed.   Add the fresh mushrooms, the sun dried tomatoes and the bell pepper.  Continue to cook for another minute or so, stirring often.  Add the green onions.  Stir for another min. or so, then add the frozen peas.  Stir it all in thoroughly.

Start adding the spices.  I started with garlic salt and pepper.  Then I added the coconut aminos until I felt it was salty enough.  Then add the Thai chili paste to taste.  More = hotter.







This should taste like a warm, comforty, slightly spicy version of ramen noodles.  But way better and way better for you.  It is vegan, paleo friendly, and obviously vegetarian.