I think if you were to ask me to sum up what I loved about oriental cuisine in one dish, I would either make you a gazillion dumplings, or a fabulous stir-fry.

  And sure, there are a million and one ways to make an amazing asian stir fry. Broccoli and peanuts seem to feature in almost all of my favourites. However, I was in a food rut a few days ago and I decided to be a bit wild with my super-marketing. So I picked up a glorious-looking packet of red spinach, all red-veined and brilliantly-green, as well as some of the usual Buna Shimeji (Nobody's perfect. And if it ain't broke, why fix it, hm?)

  It was, I believe, love at first sight.

  So here is my contribution to the world of internet asian stir-fry recipes. It isn't traditional per se, but it's pretty darn good.

Miso Red Spinach Stir-fry with Buna Shimeji Mushrooms

Serves 2-4 as a side dish

2 tbsp sesame oil

150g red spinach (weight is inclusive of stems), washed well 

1 bunch of buna shimeji mushrooms, cleaned and seperated

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 an white onion, diced

1 tbsp miso paste

salt, to taste

1/2 cup of fresh sprouted beans (if you do not have this, you can use beansprouts)

If you have any big stems in the red spinach, remove them. The thicker stems will not cook at the same rate as the rest of the spinach, so it is best if you take them out. You can use them in a veggie stock if you do not want to waste them.

Heat of the oil in a skillet and then add onion and garlic, fry until fragrant and onion becomes translucent. Add the spinach and mushrooms, stir until the spinach is wilted and the mushrooms have begun to sweat. 

Take it off the heat, and while the dish is still hot, stir in the miso paste. If your miso paste is very thick, you can water it down a little using some of the water that has leaked out from the spinach in the stir-fry. Salt it to taste if necessary. I find the miso paste makes it salty enough.

Sprinkle with sprouted beans and legumes and serve hot as a side. It goes well on rice or congee.