An Elegant Mushroom

Life is back to normal; I’m spending time with my girlfriends, hanging out at the Guthrie with my sweetie, cleaning, shopping and cooking - did I say shopping?

Every week I try to put together a menu - not that we end up eating something off of a list but, rather, to organize my shopping - sometimes it works and sometimes well not so much - but today it was awesome!

I’ve been hungry for veggie loaf lately - I know there are those of you who are scrunching up your nose at this very minute - but stick with me. I’ve not had great results with my lentil loaf lately so I’ve been searching for a new recipe and I’ve found a couple that look promising but haven’t tried them yet - Saturday was going to be the day. 

In my shopping travels I stopped at our local Asian market to get sesame oil and buckwheat noodles for a broccoli and tempeh salad I was pondering and i spied a package of beautiful oyster mushrooms at a ridiculously good price so they went in the basket too - I had no idea what I would use them for but I knew we would figure it out. 

Fast forward - it’s 5pm just unloading groceries and starving - veggie loaf takes too long so plan B it is (except there was no plan B). But wait I have beautiful mushrooms, fresh broccoli - stir fry - not just your ordinary stir fry but this one:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp peanut oil (or other high smoke point oil)

3 - 4 scallions - sliced

1″ knob of ginger, grated

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

9 oz broccoli florets

7 oz oyster mushrooms

fresh coriander, to garnish

chopped roasted peanuts, to garnish (optional)

Marinade

2 tbsp soy sauce, divided

4 tsp rice wine vinegar, divided

3 tsp maple syrup, divided

3 tsp toasted sesame oil, divided

1 tsp chili oil

Instructions

Mix the marinade ingredients: 1 tbsp soy, 2 tsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp chili oil in a medium mixing bowl. If your mushrooms are on the large side, slice them lengthwise into smaller pieces. Place them in the marinade and mix well so that they get evenly coated. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the mushrooms to soften and absorb the flavors.

Mix the remaining ingredients: 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp maple syrup and 2 tsp sesame oil in a bowl and set aside. This will be used to season the broccoli.

Heat 2 tsp of peanut oil. Add spring onion, garlic and ginger and stir-fry on a medium heat until softened and fragrant, for about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and set aside.

Heat up another 2 tsp of oil. Once hot, add marinated mushrooms. Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, until lightly browned and softened. Transfer to the plate with the onion mixture and set aside.

Finally, heat up another 2 tsp of oil and add the broccoli florets. Stir-fry for 5 minutes until cooked yet still crunchy. Season the broccoli with the mixture you prepared earlier.

Return the onions and mushrooms and heat them until warm. Serve with rice and sprinkled with crunched peanuts and fresh coriander.