Veggie Mama's Sesame Shrooms & Broccoli Recipe

China-based foodie and restaurateur Lindsey Fine (aka Veggie Mama) has been creating all sorts of delicious vegan recipes since moving to China 10 years ago. You can read all about the perks of eating a plant-based diet via her blog Veggie Mama and sample recipes on this series, Cooking with Veggie Mama. In this edition, Lindsey shares her recipe for Sesame Shrooms & Broccoli.

All jokes aside, mushrooms are truly a magical food, and these days they are playing an important part in creating sustainable products in the form of packaging, and even plant-based “leather”. If you want to check out a bit more about mushrooms, their health benefits, and another delicious recipe, you can check out my French Fried Enokis.

Mushrooms are so hot right now in the culinary world, as more varieties become available across the globe. Many vegan chefs have experimented with these far out fungi to make everything from shroom steaks to pâté. Their hearty texture and earthy flavors make mushrooms a great substitute for meat in many dishes. In this recipe I use shiitake mushrooms in place of beef in an American Chinese food favorite, beef and broccoli.

There are many good reasons to hold the beef and add the shrooms in this recipe. You won’t find a lot of fat and cholesterol in this dish, but you will find loads of flavor for a quick and nutritious meal. You will want to start the mushrooms marinating ahead of cooking time, allowing the mouthwatering flavor to soak in as much as possible.

Veggie Mama’s Sesame Shrooms & Broccoli

Ingredients

• 3 cups shiitake mushrooms, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or vegan oyster sauce (if using soy sauce and you happen to have vegan Worcestershire sauce, add a tbs of that as well, if not, no problem)

• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 1/3 cup Shaoxing wine or Japanese rice wine or apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp brown sugar

• 1 tsp cornstarch

• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper

• dash of liquid smoke (optional)

• cooking oil

• 1 large head broccoli, de-stemmed, washed and cut into bite sized florets (about 3 cups)

• 1 inch of ginger, peeled and grated

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 tsp sesame seeds for garnish

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, brown sugar, sugar, cornstarch and liquid smoke (if using). Once the sugar has dissolved, add the mixture to a shallow dish, then add the prepared mushrooms. Marinate for 30 minutes or more in the refrigerator.

2. Add a bit of cooking oil to a large skillet or wok and heat over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic and stir, leaving them to become fragrant. After about 1 minute, add in the broccoli and stir fry for about 5-7 minutes until broccoli is slightly tender and bright green.

3. Transfer broccoli into a plate or bowl and return wok to heat. Add a bit more cooking oil to the wok and then pour in the marinade and mushrooms into it. Stir and toss mushrooms until they are golden brown on the edges and the sauce becomes like a glaze, about 5 minutes.

4. Add in cooked broccoli and mix, cooking for about 2 more minutes, until heated through.

5. Transfer cooked mushroom and broccoli to serving dish and top with sesame seeds. Serve with your favorite steamed rice and enjoy!

Read more Cooking with Veggie Mama

[Images courtesy of Veggie Mama/Lindsey Fine]