These Chinese-style braised mushrooms are a great side dish, or can even serve as a satisfying main dish over rice. Braised mushrooms are simple and quick to make, but taste like they’ve cooked for hours.
A Rich Vegetarian Dish
This Braised Mushroom recipe has all the same rich flavors we would use in a Chinese braised beef or pork recipe (like Judy’s Shanghai braised pork belly!), so anyone cutting down on meat can enjoy a similar rich taste and texture.
Braising entails searing the main ingredients, simmering them in braising liquid until tender, then reducing the liquid until you have a thick and luxurious sauce. Those are the key steps here, and it couldn’t be simpler.
What I like about this recipe in particular is if you’re juggling a few other dishes that have to pass through the wok, you can make these in a skillet or pot and keep them on a separate burner while you’re cooking other dishes. Then your meal comes together quickly and more seamlessly, allowing you to serve everything hot at the same time.
What mushrooms are best for braising?
You can use virtually any mushroom for braising, but they should have a firm or even meaty texture. For simplicity’s sake, we like white button or cremini mushrooms which are abundant in supermarkets.
Fresh shiitake, oyster, or king oyster mushrooms are also great choices for braising. If you want a contrasting texture, you could throw in a handful of rehydrated wood ear mushrooms too.
Substitutions
This recipe is so straightforward, you can make it as written with Chinese flavors if you’re doing a full Chinese spread, or you could adapt it with non-Chinese flavors to serve alongside steak (perhaps Kaitlin’s Soy Butter Ribeye Steak), roast chicken (try Sarah’s sheet pan Roasted Lemon Chicken Thighs), or pork chops!
All you do is follow the same directions, just make the following ingredient substitutions. You’ll have a delicious and hearty braised mushroom dish with the richness of a little bit of soy sauce:
- Use extra virgin olive oil instead of a neutral oil
- Omit the fresh ginger and sesame oil
- Use white wine instead of Shaoxing wine
- Use fresh ground black pepper instead of white pepper
- Just before plating the dish, add a pat or more of butter to your mushrooms
- Use fresh parsley instead of scallion to finish them
Here are some other mushroom dishes we love!
- Beef and Mushroom Stir-Fry Rice Plate
- Mushroom Fried Rice
- Classic, Easy Stuffed Mushrooms
- Soy Sauce Butter Pasta with Shrimp and Shiiitakes
- Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy
- Moo Goo Gai Pan (Mushroom and Chicken Stir-fry)
Braised Mushrooms Recipe Instructions
Heat a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the neutral oil, and swirl the pan around to coat it in oil. Add the ginger, and fry for 30 seconds.
Then add the chopped garlic and shallots.
Once the garlic and shallots are fragrant and slightly softened (about 30 seconds), add the mushrooms and toss until lightly coated.
Add the Shaoxing wine. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms start to brown slightly.
Stir in the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper.
Bring to a simmer. Cover, and cook for about 5 minutes.
Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for another 10 minutes. The sauce should begin to reduce and coat the mushrooms.
Once the sauce begins to coat the mushrooms, add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce to your liking. There should be very little sauce at this stage with most of the sauce coating the mushrooms. Turn up the heat to reduce the excess liquid if desired.
Toss in the chopped scallions, reserving some green portions for the final garnish.
Plate and serve, garnished with some of the reserved scallion greens.
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Recipe
Braised Mushrooms (Chinese-Style)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil)
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallots (or red onion)
- 20 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms (cut in half or quarters)
- 1½ tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1¼ cup low sodium vegetable stock (or mushroom stock or chicken stock)
- 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce (or regular oyster sauce)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce (or mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 pinch sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 2 teaspoons water)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- Heat a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the neutral oil, and swirl the pan around to coat it in oil. Add the ginger, and fry for 30 seconds. Then add the chopped garlic and shallots.
- Once the garlic and shallots are fragrant and slightly softened (about 30 seconds), add the mushrooms and toss until lightly coated. Add the Shaoxing wine. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms start to brown slightly.
- Stir in the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover, and cook for about 5 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for another 10 minutes. The sauce should begin to reduce and coat the mushrooms.
- Once the sauce begins to coat the mushrooms, add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce to your liking. There should be very little sauce at this stage with most of the sauce coating the mushrooms. Turn up the heat to reduce the excess liquid if desired.
- Toss in the chopped scallions, reserving some green portions for the final garnish. Plate and serve, garnished with some of the reserved scallion greens.
