Although I love tamarind paste, I haven’t come across it since I’ve been in South Korea.  Luckily, a friend who moved away recently had ordered some from another country and gave me what was left of it.  After an epic two hour power yoga sesh, I wasn’t feeling like making a heavy or time consuming dinner, so I whipped up this little contraption.  It’s not the most filling and definitely doesn’t have a lot of calories, but at 10 o’clock at night, it was the perfect little meal for me.  Garlic, chillies, and ginger pair brilliantly with tamarind, as well, so what the dish lacks in bulk it makes up for in explosive flavor. Enjoy!

Prep time: 1 minute

Cook time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

• 150 g string mushrooms
• 1 long red chili pepper, diced
• 2 tsp tamarind paste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tsp chia seeds
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil in a small pan.  Add garlic and chillies and cook for a minute.  Then add the string mushrooms and cook for another two minutes, stirring frequently as they are quite temperamental.  While the chilies and mushrooms are cooking, douse in tamarind paste.  Allow the paste to melt a bit before mixing.  After removing from heat, top with freshly minced raw ginger and chia seeds. Be careful of tamarind pods remaining in the paste when eating.

Yields 1 serving