Braised Shiitake Mushrooms

This is a very tasty Chinese braised mushrooms recipe I learnt from my mum. A braised or stewed dish is my mum’s specialty. She has been cooking a braised dish of sorts (with hard-boiled egg, pork belly, tofu, mushrooms) weekly for decades. Her approach is really simple – just a harmony of spices, carefree cooking style (she never measures) and lots of experience.

See Also:

• Mushroom Bak Chor Mee Recipe
• Braised Pork Belly (Tau Yu Bak) Recipe
• Braised Mushrooms with Abalone Recipe
• Shredded Chicken & Mushroom Noodles Recipe

Now I have also started to make these braised mushrooms frequently as they keep well in the fridge (so I can prepare ahead), covered in its braising sauce. It goes well with steamed rice and exceptionally well as a topping for mee sua, noodles or even salads. I also use small spoonfuls of braising sauce to flavour my noodles and salad (in place of soy sauce).

Look at these braised mushrooms toppings being used in my home-made bak chor mee.

(toggle through the gallery above to see more pictures)

A braise recipe is very forgiving. Too salty? Add more water. Too bland? Add more soy sauces. Mushrooms not tender enough? Cook longer. Sauce too dry? Add water. I added rock sugar and dried chilli to my mum’s original recipe to improve the look and taste of the mushrooms. Just make sure not to overdose on the cinnamon or star anise (a little goes a long way), and be patient if you are using white peppercorns. Dry toasting them whole may take a longer time than using crushed peppercorns, but the flavour is certainly better. And you can also skip the peppercorn step if you are busy.

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Braised Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe

Buy the thinner type of Chinese dried mushrooms (usually the slightly pricier variety) which cooks quickly, only about 20-30 minutes. Some dried mushrooms may take a whole day to braise as they are meant for whole-day slow cooker cooking.

A braise recipe is very forgiving. Too salty? Add more water. Too bland? Add more soy sauces. Mushrooms not tender enough? Cook longer. Sauce too dry? Add water. No time? Skip step 2. Prefer savoury over sweet? Omit rock sugar (though it also gives a nice gloss to the mushroom caps).

Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 50 grams Chinese dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tsp whole white peppercorns
• 750 ml water use mushroom soaking liquid, filtered through a fine sieve. Then top up to 750ml with water
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 15 grams (about 1/2 tbsp) rock sugar
• small piece (little finger length) cinnamon stick
• 3 garlic cloves keep the skin on; bruised slightly
• 1 star anise
• 1 dried red chilli

Directions:

1. Soak mushrooms in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes until softened, trim and discard stalks and squeeze out excess water from each mushroom cap.
2. In a wok pan, add white peppercorns. Dry roast the peppercorns on medium low heat until you smell their aroma, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms with the rest of the ingredients (including the roasted peppercorns) in a small pot. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Transfer the stewed mushrooms together with the stewing sauce in a small bowl and set aside. Optional: Keep the stewed mushrooms warm and tender by keeping in a mini slow cooker on low until serving time.
4. Store braised mushrooms, with sauce and covered with lid, in the fridge for up to a week.