Place the Sake in a sauce pan and along with the stalks from the
mushrooms and gently bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave
to infuse for two or three hours. The reason for this is that the stalks of the Shitake
mushrooms are very tough and inedible. However, they do contain a huge amount
of flavour and this stage of the recipe helps to extract that flavour. After completing this
stage, strain the sake through a sieve and discard the mushroom stalks.
In a wok, heat the peanut oil until it is almost smoking and than add the thinly
caps of the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and then add the
Sake and reduce by ¾ . Then add the chilli and Coconut milk and reduce by half and then
toss the cooked spaghetti through the sauce, ensuring that it is heated thoroughly. Add half the coriander to the sauce and then divide between four warmed pasta bowls. Sprinkle over the remaining coriander and serve.
Note!!!.........For an additional flavour boost, I like to use some dried Shitake mushrooms
(available from all good Asian and Oriental food stores) that I have ground to a fine powder.
This is sprinkled over the dish at the last minute, and, as I said, gives the whole thing that extra and additional boost of flavour. An electric coffee grinder is the ideal solution to this but, failing that. You can use a food processor but you will have to sieve the resulting powder.