During a trip through China, I ate a lot of life-changing food—homemade noodles in beef sauce, spicy lotus root with ginger, Sandouping-style boiled peanuts, deep-fried river shrimp with garlic, and the list goes on. Whenever I happened upon a dish I particularly liked, I took plenty of notes so that I could re-create it back home.
A Simple Mushroom Stir-Fry
While in Beijing and Xi’an, I noticed that much of the food there was sweeter than in the rest of China. One particular dish we had quite a few times was a simple mushroom stir-fry. It was spicy, but not too much. Just enough to make the tongue tingle. It was also sweet but not cloying. After a bit of playing, I’ve re-created the recipe, and I think it’s spot on. You saute mushrooms with a honey and soy sauce glaze and then toss them with stir-fried green onions and peas in a simple ginger, garlic, chili, and sesame sauce. Shaoxing cooking wine is a Chinese cooking wine that comes from Shaoxing in China’s Zhejiang Province. Purchase it at the grocery store or a specialty Asian market. It’s amber in color and adds a depth of flavor to dishes that regular rice cooking wine does not offer. Sherry also adds a depth of flavor. You can use cooking sherry found in the grocery store, but we suggest using a drinking sherry—a fino if you don’t want to add extra sweetness or a Pedro Ximenez if you want additional sweetness in this sweet and spicy dish. In a pinch, you can substitute apple cider vinegar for either of these cooking wines, but for the best flavors, we suggest using either the Shaoxing or sherry.
Make It a Meal
Round this out with one or two of these sides to make this a simple, satisfying meal.
Rice Cold Rice Noodle Salad Slow Cooker Chinese Pulled Pork Scallion Pancakes Air Fryer Chinese Egg Rolls
5 More Chinese Recipes to Try
Moo Goo Gai Pan (Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Stir-Fry) Chicken Fried Rice Easy Vegetable Lo Mein Broccoli Stir-Fry With Ginger and Sesame Shrimp With Snow Peas
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option) 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if cooking gluten free)
Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option) 3 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if cooking gluten free) 1/4 cup honey 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine or cooking sherry 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Stir-Fry:
3 tablespoons sesame, grapeseed, or other high smoke-point oil 2 pounds mixed mushrooms (oyster, cremini, button, shiitake, and/or enoki), roughly chopped or quartered (you want bite-sized pieces) 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon grated ginger 2 to 5 dried red chilies, roughly chopped, or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes 1 1/2 cups snow peas or snap peas, de-stringed 8 green onions, chopped Cooked rice, for serving, optional Toasted sesame seeds, for optional garnish
Allow the mushrooms to cook for a few minutes until they start to squeak and give up their water (you’ll see their water in the pan). When they do, add the glaze. Allow the glaze to boil off, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. When barely any more liquid remains, take the mushrooms off the heat and set them aside in a bowl. There may be bits of sugar caramelized to the side of the pan, don’t fret about it. Add the mushrooms back to the mixture and cook for about 20 more seconds. Take off the heat. Serve over rice and garnish with sesame seeds if using.
