Vegetarian Mapo Tofu - cooking recipe

Ingredients

5 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 carrot, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh green peas or 1/4 cup frozen green pea
14 ounces tofu, diced
1 -2 teaspoon chili bean paste or 1 -2 teaspoon other spicy chili paste
2 tablespoons tamari
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons potato starch
2 green onions, sliced

Preparation

Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in one cup of water for 1-2 hours or until soft. Save the water. Finely dice the mushrooms.
In a skillet, heat sesame seed oil and saute minced ginger and garlic. Add carrots and saute. Add mushrooms and peas and saute.
Add diced tofu and 1 cup water used for soaking mushrooms.
Add salt, tamari, and 1 - 2 tsp chili paste (depending on how spicy you want). Cook until everything is heated through.
In a small bowl, dissolve potato starch in 2 Tbsp water. Lower the heat and add the mixture. Stir until the liquid gets thick. Turn off the heat.
Transfer the dish to plates and sprinkle sliced green onions.