When do you add mushrooms to a stir-fry?

[Guaranteed]

This is BGL's girlfriend and we disagree over when you add mushrooms while cooking. In this case we are making a teriyaki chicken dish. One person believes you should add the mushrooms with the chicken at the beginning and the other believes you should add them at the very end.

Anyone else able to give advice?

THanks.

[Bertha Venation]

1. If they're fresh, I cook them first.

They release a great deal of liquid. If you mean for that liquid to add flavor to your dish, or for them still to be pretty earthy when the dish is served, I guess you'd add them near the end.

But since I don't like fresh shrooms but LOVE cooked shrooms, I cook them first.

I don't think there's a hard & fast rule. But then, I'm not the Iron Chef. ;)

[eleonora]

2. chicken first

mushrooms a few minutes later.

[alexisfree]

3. eat the mushrooms raw...

see what happens. ..:crazy:

[beachhous9]

4. i put them

in near the end because they cook so fast.

[yellowdogintexas]

5. I do all my veggies first, and undercook them a bit because they will

continue to cook from their own heat. I add the mushrooms toward the end of the cook time for everything else. Then I put the veggies in a big bowl, fire up the wok again, do the meat and the sauce then put the veg back in at the last minute.

I found this method in a Szechuan cookbook my husband gave me and ever since I started using this method, my stir fry dishes have been much tastier. I have better control over the doneness level of the vegetables