Three Cups Mushrooms
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Mushrooms lovers will love this vegetarian variation of the Taiwanese three cups chicken recipe of three cups mushrooms (三杯菇), using fresh shiitake mushrooms. I have leftover sweet basil leaves and decided to cook a three cups dish. Since we just had the chicken version a week ago, I made a meatless variation this time.
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“Three Cups” refers to the trio combination of sesame oil, soy sauce and Chinese wine, but it does not mean using one cup each of the condiment – rather, equal parts (1:1:1) of each depending on the quantity you are cooking. The 1:1:1 formula is flexible too, for example, I always use less soy sauce with more Chinese wine and sesame oil. The mushrooms cook quickly (about 5 minutes of simmering), so this is a great side dish on busy nights. Three cups dishes are traditionally cooked in a claypot, but you can always use a regular wok or pan if you do not have one.
Three Cups Mushrooms Recipe
In “Three Cups” recipes, the trio combination of sesame oil, soy sauce and Chinese wine does not mean using one cup each of the condiment – rather, equal parts (1:1:1) of each depending on the quantity you are cooking. The 1:1:1 formula is flexible too, and in this recipe, I use less soy sauce and more Chinese wine and sesame oil. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to suit your taste buds.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 10 cloves garlic peeled & slightly bruised
- 6 slices ginger
- 2 stalks spring onions cut to 5cm (2 inch) lengths; separate thick bottom ends from leafy sections
- 250g fresh shiitake mushrooms stalks trimmed (for larger caps, I halve them)
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- a generous handful of fresh sweet basil leaves
(A) Seasonings
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 40ml water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Directions:
- Heat sesame oil in clay pot or wok and add garlic cloves, ginger, the thick bottom white ends of the spring onions. Stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add mushrooms and carrots, stir fry briefly. Don’t worry if the clay pot looks crowded, the mushrooms will shrink considerably when cooked.
- Sizzle Chinese wine and add seasonings (A). Stir evenly, and cover the lid to simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked and tender soft.
- When the dish is cooked, stir in the remaining spring onions and fresh basil leaves before serving.
Noob Cook Tip
For best results, cook this dish in a claypot.