Braised Mushrooms & Tofu with Soy Ginger & Garlic Sauce
A warm and comforting Braised Mushrooms & Tofu with Soy Ginger & Garlic Sauce. I love a good braised dish especially in the cold months where you want something warm and grounding, that’s perfect with rice. The ginger and garlic here create a very aromatic combination that pair well with the umami flavors of the mixed mushrooms. I used packaged fried tofu, that are almost like tofu puffs, which absorb the flavors from the sauce so well.
Ingredients
MUSHROOMS
- 17.5 oz fresh mushrooms of choice I used a mix of shiitake, king oyster, and seafood/shimeji mushrooms
- Neutral oil , I used avocado oil
- Pinch salt
FOR STIR-FRYING
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic , lightly crushed and peeled
- 10 thin slices ginger , peeled
- 2 scallions , white and green parts separated
- 1 small carrot , peeled and thinly sliced at a bias/diagonal
FOR BRAISING
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1-2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 1/2 lb fried tofu (1 pack) see notes
- 2 cups vegetable broth see notes
CORN STARCH SLURRY
- 1.5 tbsp corn starch
- 3 tbsp room temperature water
TO SERVE
- Scallions for garnish
- Steamed rice for serving
- Chili oil
Instructions
- Slice the mushrooms. For the king oyster mushrooms, I shaved the bottom ends of these since they can be tough and chewy. I sliced them lengthwise in half then sliced 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) half rounds.For the shiitake mushrooms I simply sliced these into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) pieces and I trimmed the stems before split these into half. I simple cut the seafood mushrooms into 2” long pieces. You can watch the video or see the step-by-step photos for a better idea.
- Heat a large skillet or wok with oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the sliced mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt to the mushrooms.
- Leave the mushrooms untouched to release all the water/moisture. Once you get a nice browning, move the mushrooms around to cook the remaining sides.
- Once there are no signs of moisture and the mushrooms have a nice brown sear, move the mushrooms to the side of the wok/skillet.
- Add the sesame oil. Add the garlic and thinly sliced ginger. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until aromatic and the garlic has some browning.
- Add the scallions and carrot.
- Add the soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, sugar, and Chinese 5 spice powder. Add the fried tofu then mix well.
- Add the vegetable broth. Cover the wok/skillet and allow the broth to come to a bowl. Once it boils, lower the heat. Leave this to cook at a gentle simmer for 4-5 minutes to allow the tofu to absorb the flavors of the sauce.
- Meanwhile, mix together the corn starch and room temperature water in a small bowl.
- Remove the lid from the wok/skillet. Over low heat, pour the slurry and then carefully mix the sauce. It’ll start to thicken from the cornstarch. Taste the sauce and season this with more soy sauce/veg oyster sauce for extra flavor, or sugar for extra sweetness.
- Serve while hot with steamed rice and garnish with scallions. You can also finish this with some chili oil for extra heat.
Notes
FRIED TOFU
- I purchase fried tofu pouches from my local Asian supermarket. This saves a lot of time. You can also use regular extra firm tofu, press this to drain excess water, slice into 1.5 to 2" (3.75 to 5 cm) thick cubes then fry in oil until golden brown and crispy.
- You can also slice the tofu however way you want.
- If using the fried tofu pouches, you can slice these diagonally in half to create triangle shapes. This way, the sauce also better seeps into the sliced tofu.
VEGETABLE BROTH
- Do note that the seasoning for this dish is also heavily dependent on the broth. If your vegetable broth is very light, you may need to add more soy sauce/veg oyster sauce to taste.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 1531mg | Potassium: 786mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 3200IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 3mg
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