Braised Beancurd Skin with Mushrooms

This is a homestyle braised beancurd skin with mushrooms recipe in a flavorful sauce perfect paired with a bowl of steamed rice. The beancurd rolls or skin are cooked down with a mix of shiitake, shimeji, and wood ear mushrooms with carrots, garlic, and ginger. 

THIS BRAISED BEANCURD SKIN WITH MUSHROOMS RECIPE IS:

• Packed with earthy flavors and different textures
• Easy to prepare with a few key ingredients
• Great for batch cooking and meal prep
• Perfect with a bowl of steamed rice

WHAT IS BEANCURD SKIN?

Beancurd skin is made of soy beans - it’s from the process of boiling soy milk where a firm of skin forms on top and when removed and dried, this film turns into a thin yellowish sheet.

There are many different names for beancurd skin, that can be used interchangeably. These can be called beancurd skin, beancurd rolls, yuba, tofu skin, tofu sheets, tofu sticks, and beancurd sticks. These can be found in any Chinese or Asian supermarket. There are forms of dried or fried beancurd or tofu skin.

For this recipe, you can opt to use either fresh, dried (then rehydrated), or fried bean curd skin.

Here are some options you can find online or in your local Asian grocery:

• Beancurd roll (similar to what I used)
• Beancurd stick
• Beancurd sheets

I used fried beancurd skin/rolls that I purchased from a Taiwanese supermarket during a visit to Taipei.

INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE

MUSHROOMS AND BEANCURD

• 1 heaping tbsp dried wood ear mushrooms or black fungus (around 5-10 grams dried)
• Neutral cooking oil
• 6 cloves garlic peeled
• 5.2 oz shimeji mushrooms or other mushrooms 
• 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms or other mushrooms 
• 1/2 small carrot peeled and sliced
• 3.5 oz dried beancurd skin or rolls (see notes)

SEASONING

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or other rice wine
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1.5 cups water , plus more if needed (see notes)

CORN STARCH SLURRY

• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp room temperature water

PREPARE THE MUSHROOMS

• Soak the wood ear mushrooms or black fungus in hot water for 10-15 minutes or in room temperate water overnight until rehydrated.
• Slice the carrot and mushrooms.

STIR-FRYING

• Heat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat.
• Add the oil. Once hot, add the garlic cloves and stir-fry over medium high heat until lightly golden.
• Add the carrots. Sauté for 1 minute. Add the shiitake, shimeji, and rehydrated wood ear mushrooms.
• Season the mushrooms. Mix well.

BRAISING

• Add the beancurd skin. Pour the water. Mix well and leave to simmer.
• Allow the beancurd and mushrooms to simmer over medium heat to come to a boil.
• Meanwhile, mix the corn starch and water. Ensure the corn starch is diluted.
• Once the sauce starts to boils and the beancurd is tender, lower the heat.
• Pour the cornstarch slurry. Slowly mix everything until the sauce has thickened.
• Taste the beancurd and mushrooms. Season with more vegetarian oyster sauce or soy sauce to taste, if needed.

TO FINISH

• Add the chopped chives. Mix well.
• If needed, you can loosen the sauce with 2-3 tbsp of water (see notes).
• Serve this while hot and enjoy with rice.

MORE ASIAN RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE

• Chinese Green Bean and Mushroom Stir-Fry
• Vegetable Dumplings
• Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew)
• Tomato and "Egg" Stir-Fry
• Black Pepper Tofu Steaks
• Tofu "Chicken" Teriyaki
• Korean Spicy Braised Tofu
• Spicy Cucumber Salad
• Chinese Chive Pies

Looking for more Vegan Asian recipes?

You can get a copy of my cookbook, Vegan Asian!

If you crave vegan-friendly versions of classic Asian dishes, this cookbook is packed with Southeast and East Asian dishes inspired by those I grew up enjoying at home and those I’ve tried from my travels. From iconic Thai dishes to piping-hot Japanese fare and everything in between, the recipes in this will take your palate on a delicious food trip across Asia, and hopefully keep you coming back for more!

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