Spicy squid and mushroom udon

Heat pan to medium, don't oil (you'll want to use the widest pan possible so that the mushrooms can sweat properly)

Chop mushrooms into quarter-half dollar sized chunks (you'll want about 2 cups of chopped mushrooms) I used maitake, yellow oyster, and king oyster

On medium-low heat with no oil or liquid or seasoning other than a quarter sized amount of salt, sweat the mushrooms until they have shrank quite a bit, and have changed texture and color from sloppy and flimsy to more firm and golden brown (if you notice they are browning too fast lower the heat) this process can take up to 20+ minutes

Dice/mince 1-3 cloves of garlic and add garlic and 1 tb lf butter, dice, grate, however, 1 whole onion and add to the skillet

Cut the peppers in long thin strips and add those to the mixture

I used pre-packed spicy squid from Hmart and bought some extra plain frozen squid to add in. If you can't find prepackaged spicy squid you can experiment with chili paste, although I highly recommend finding a local asian market and becoming familiar with their spices, pastes, sauces, etc

In this recipe I also used a splash of chinese black vinegar and dark mushroom soy sauce (a splash of white distilled vinegar and reg soy sauce should be fine but obviously won't be the same)

After I add in the squid mixture I add in a cup/two of beef broth and 1/4-1/2 cup of water, stir, add in broccoli and dried wood ear mushroom, frozen udon noodles and let simmer for 5-10 minutes covered. Squid cooks very fast and you don't want to overcook it so be sure to keep an eye on it. You will see it change texture. Remove from heat throw in snap peas and re-cover

Let sit covered for a minute or two (wood ear usually will soak up pretty fast but sometimes I like to give it that extra minute in case, but if the wood ear looks fully rehydrated before you re-cover no need to let sit