Yesterday I was looking at pictures of beef and drooling. Woah, woah, woah! Before anyone freaks out, let me explain. I often find inspiration for my recipe from animal-product filled recipes. It's not the meat that is making me drool, (that part is a real turn off for me). It's the idea I have in my head about how I can achieve similar textures and flavours. The chew, the crispiness, the umami, the juiciness. All that deliciousness but made blissfully vegan. That's what I am drooling over, my imagination.
So when I stumbled upon a few recipes for sesame beef, my brain started mentally sorting through my kitchen and I thought of the bag of dried shiitake mushrooms that I use in my Quick Vegan Pho and my Congee recipe. Even after soaking for a long time and cooking, the dried shiitake remain super juicy and chewy. Light bulb!
So I played around a bit, and BLAM-O! (Is blam-o a thing kids say now? I don't think so). I tossed the mushrooms in cornstarch fried them up and stirred them into a quick sauce.
~Pats self on back~
Slightly crispy on the outside, super chewy and juicy on the inside, coated in a sticky sweet and spicy sauce. Gah! This hit all of the flavour points and textures I was striving for and hot dang it's delicious.This just turned into one of my new favourite dishes that I will be whipping up on a regular basis.
For some more veggie-ness, feel free to add in some sautéed broccoli, bok choy, spinach, or other greenage. I served mine over rice, but I think rice noodles would also be fab. Enjoy!
To Make Crispy & Chewy Sesame Shiitake:
You are going to need dried shiitake mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms won't work the same way as they don't have the same chewy texture as the dried ones. I found a big bag of dried shiitake at my local grocery store, but if your store doesn't carry them, you can order them online. One bag lasts a long time!
Rehydrate the mushrooms by covering them in boiling water. I always put a bowl on top to help push to mushrooms down and keep them submerged. Soak them for around 40 minutes until they are nice and tender.
Drain the mushrooms. If you wish you can save the liquid to use as a mushroom broth. Now squeeze out the excess water from the mushrooms. Don't mush them to death, but just lightly squeeze them and shake off the water so they are on the drier side. Cut them into nice thick slices, about ½ inch.
Toss them in the cornstarch so they are evenly coated and shake off the excess.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure the oil is nice and hot before adding in the mushrooms so that they fry, and not just soak up the oil. Fry the mushrooms until they are lightly golden on all sides, and no white cornstarch remains.
In the meantime make the sauce by adding all of the ingredients to a small saucepan. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes until it begins to thicken. Add in the fried shiitakes and toss to coat. Serve immediately over rice or in any way that you desire.
(click stars to vote)
Crispy & Chewy Sesame Shiitake
Servings: Servings as a main, 4 as a side
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Ingredients
For the shiitake:
- 2 cups dried shiitakes, (12-16 mushrooms)
- Boiling water, (to soak the mushrooms)
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons light oil, (such as canola or peanut), plus more if needed
For the sesame sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1 inch piece of ginger, , minced
- 2 teaspoons sriracha or other hot sauce, (optional)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For garnish:
- 2 green onion, , thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cover the mushrooms in boiling water, and put something on top to keep them submerged. Soak for around 40 minutes until tender. Drain the mushrooms. If you wish you can save the liquid to use as a mushroom broth. Now squeeze out the excess water from the mushrooms. Don’t mush them to death, but just lightly squeeze them and shake off the water so they are on the drier side. Slice them into nice thick slices, about ½ inch. Toss them in the cornstarch so they are evenly coated and shake off the excess.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure the oil is nice and hot before adding in the mushrooms so that they fry, and not just soak up the oil. Fry the mushrooms until they are lightly golden on all sides, and no white cornstarch remains.
- In the meantime make the sauce by adding all of the ingredients to a small sauce pan. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes until it begins to thicken. Add in the fried shiitakes and toss to coat. Serve immediately over rice or in anyway that you desire, and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
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Kathi says
Might be a silly question but will fresh shitakes work as well as dried ones?
Sam Turnbull says
They will work, but the dried ones have a very chewy texture which is ideal. Enjoy!
Adele says
Sam... this was SO good. I've been very uninspired with cooking lately and on my way home today thought 'I need to try something new and get my cooking jazz back on'. You have well and truly done that for me! Now I just want to try more and more of your recipes! I really appreciate how you test every recipe to perfection. So dedicated. YOU'RE AMAZING!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thank you so much, Adele!! So happy you found this dish inspiring, and your cooking game is back on point! 🙂
Amy says
Oh my word.... Sam Sam Sam. This was so ridiculously delicious I thought maybe I’d died and gone to heaven. And I made it! You are some kind of magician! Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha! So thrilled you loved it so much, Amy 😀
Anna Conolly says
Love this recipe, so quick as well. im trying to eat more plant based for the planet. Just wondering if its possible to use different dried mushrooms? Do oyster mushrooms work ? Can you buy dried sliced mushrooms or do you need whole? Just trying to save some pennies 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! Any dried mushroom will work but of course, the taste and texture will vary. Enjoy!
Laura Dinges says
Finally got around to making this, and it was soooo close to perfection but was just a little too salty/intense flavor for us. I think next time I'll try coconut aminos or something.
I used half the Sriracha and my extremely spice sensitive family deemed it "too spicy" *eyeroll*
Loved the chewy crispiness, and imo very comparable to the "real thing." Thanks!
Santiago says
Oh, Sam, I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful recipe. There’s nothing wrong on having inspiration from regular recipes; in fact, I think that’s how we all get inspired to make our vegan food look and taste like regular food. I purchased my Shiitakes from https://www.burmaspice.com/ and I have no complaints about them. The recipe was amazing. Thank you for giving this gift to the world.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! You're most welcome, Santiago! I'm so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe so much 🙂
Lea-Andra says
Oh man. After trying General Tao bowl at Copper Branch, I was determined to find a recipe I could make that was the same. This was amazing and my kids loved it. My husband and I are searching for more ways to widen our diet vegetarian/vegan diet and introduce our kids to more variety and not just eating meat. This was a definite winner.
Sam Turnbull says
So awesome! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Lea-Andra 🙂
Noa says
I made these tonight and I love love love them. Besides soaking the mushrooms, this all came together in about 5 minutes. Will absolutely make this again. Thank you so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! Thrilled you loved it, Noa 🙂
Debra Q Markowitz says
Last week we bought some gorgeous flower-top shiitake mushrooms from Costco. We made these tonight to honor Chinese New Year. Easy, fast, and fabulous! No regrets on having spent so much on them!
Thanks so much for a great recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh that sounds so delicious! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Moriaelini says
Yes, I know that SHIITAKES are mushrooms, you have, however, spelled it SHITTAKE in your title. lol.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh! Whoops! Fixed. Hahaha
Moriaelini says
You might want to edit your title as it sounds like something decidedly not mushroom-like, lol. Otherwise, this recipe sounds delicious! I need to try it ASAP.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Shiitakes are a kind of mushroom.
James says
These look so nice Sam. Do you know of any healthier substitutes for cornstarch? I'm not a big fan of using that.
Sam Turnbull says
I believe arrowroot powder should work.
José says
Hi Sam,
Horrra for you, for itdoesnottastelikechicken and for dried shittake mushrooms!! You have a new fan! Many thanks for sharing and for the laughs + love your writing style =)
Added some cheeky steamed asparagus broccoli which was cooked with that delicious mushroom broth over some fragrant jasmine rice - absolute delicious and so nutritious!! Keep on working that imagination and also making us drool ; )
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks so much, Jose!! And welcome 🙂
Chriselda says
Hey, Sam! I’m making this right now and I am super excited (and hungry)! I’ve been wanting to make this since last year. I finally found fried shiitake mushrooms (I don’t remember seeing any other kinds).
Just 2 questions... Can this be frozen?
It’s just me and my furchild and I prefer to cook meals that can be frozen so I don’t waste food & to make things easier in general.
Also, not to be a pain in the butt, but do you think you could mention/tag in your recipes whether or not they are “freezer-friendly” and/or fridge meal prep friendly? I know this would require you experimenting but it would be an enormous help (I’m sure many people would benefit from this, too).
Thanks for this recipe! I hope you, Chickpea, and your bf are well. 🙂 <3
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Chriselda! Generally, mushrooms and fried food aren't considered freezer friendly. So I wouldn't recommend freezing this recipe. I will consider adding those tags. I do try to mention when things freeze well in the recipes that do.
Aarushi says
Aah came across your website when I searched for recipes using these shiitake mushrooms! I can't WAIT to try this recipe! subscribed to you on facebook 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so much! I hope you love them as much as I do 🙂
Jessica S. says
I made this for my meat-eating in-laws today. It was a HIT. I think next time I'll reduce the spiciness a tad. We had it over brown rice with edamame on the side.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Jessica 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks for liking my recipes! I didn't see your post on your website, but just in case wanted to remind you that all of the text and images are the property of It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. Feel free to share photos, and/or quotes with a link back to the original post on my blog. Do NOT copy and paste entire recipes or large bodies of text. This is a breach of copyright. As long as you follow these guidelines, you are good to go. Thanks!
Medicinal Mushrooms says
Thanks for the reply, I have backlinked all your content with links only. I was just doing some adding, check out the recipe page.
If you approve a shout out would be helpful! Look around the site as it’s completed dedicated to mushrooms! Thanks again!!
Jenny says
I'm addicted!!
Samantha says
Holy freaking COW this is an amazing recipe. I did use coconut aminos and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and I used arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch but holy cow was this to die for. I mean making it again tomorrow for lunch. Oh and with some charred broccoli this makes an AMAZING Meal.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! That's so awesome, thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Samantha 🙂
Anna says
Wow Sam, I didn't think I'd love a recipe as much as BBQ Korean Lentils which I make all the time. But holy guacamole girlfriend, this has just reached number 1 with a rocket! Absolutely bang on for flavour, simplicity and vegan translation. I don't know how you do it, but I'm so frickin glad you do! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, and I can't wait to get my cookbook in October! :):)
Sam Turnbull says
Aww yay!!! So happy you love the recipe so much! It's one of my faves too. I'm so excited to share my book with you! 🙂
Tony says
Just made this and it tasted awesome. Always looking for new vegan recipes.
I especially liked the tip about the mushrooms. Thanks for the knowledge 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you loved it 🙂
Srivani says
My hubby saw this recipe on your Facebook feed. OMG!!! That's all I have to say!
Actually, this was super easy and super yummy! Only problem was that I couldn't have seconds since there were none. I could only find sliced dried shiitake... so actually ended up making this recipe even easier than stated.
Thanks Sam! Yet another successful recipe. You make me a good cook!
Sam Turnbull says
Now your husband is looking out for my recipes too! Haha. I will have the whole Srivani family following me soon. So happy you loved another of my recipes, Srivani!