Meaty Taiwanese-style Char Siu king oyster mushrooms with hints of sweet and spice. Boldly flavored; great with a healthy serving of rice.
These king oyster mushrooms are boldly-flavored with notes of savory, sweet, and numbingly spicy flavors. Perfect over a bed of rice.
Here’s How:
Step 1: Cut off the mushroom caps. To get our mushrooms to resemble Char Siu as much as possible, I removed the mushroom caps. You could keep it on and it will taste just as good. If you decide to cut off the mushroom caps, you can use it in fried rice or stir-fry dishes.
Step 2: Poke holes & Score. Poke holes with a fork on all surfaces of the mushrooms. After poking holes, use a knife to score two sides of each mushroom. Doing this helps flavors from the braising liquid seep into the mushroom.
As opposed to regular Char Siu pork, these king oyster mushrooms are ready within 20 minutes! Slice them like you would normally slice Char Siu.
Char Siu King Oyster Mushrooms
Course: DinnerCuisine: TaiwaneseDifficulty: Easy2
servings10
minutes20
minutesMeaty Taiwanese-style Char Siu king oyster mushrooms with hints of sweet and spice. Boldly flavored; great with a healthy serving of rice.
Ingredients
3 large king oyster mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for frying
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 inch ginger, finely minced
1/2 tablespoons doubanjiang (spicy bean paste)
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 cube fermented bean curd with chili (optional)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine (like Shaoxing wine)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground five-spice
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Directions
- Prepare the King Oyster Mushrooms. Start by cutting the cap off each king oyster mushroom (this is optional and only for aesthetics). Poke holes with a fork on all surfaces of the mushrooms. After poking holes, use a knife to score two sides of each mushroom.
- Prepare the Sauce. In a bowl, add fermented bean curd and mash it up well (skip if not using). Follow with soy sauces, sugar, rice cooking wine, and water. Mix well and set aside.
- Cook the King Oyster Mushrooms. In a medium-sized pot, heat up vegetable oil on medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic, and fry for another 30-60 seconds, or until smelling nice. Add doubanjiang (spicy bean paste) and slowly fry until the oil stains orange. Place the king oyster mushrooms in the pot and turn the heat up to medium. Cook the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes, turning as needed, until each side is lightly-browned. Note: You can use a heavy object to press down on the mushrooms at this point to achieve a denser, more “meaty” texture. Deglaze the pot with the prepared sauce, followed by the bay leaf and five-spice. Cook covered for 15 minutes.
- Reduce the cooking liquid. After 15 minutes, remove the lid and turn up the heat to reduce the braising liquid. Reduce by about half, or until the liquid achieves a sauce-like coating consistency. Finish with toasted sesame oil. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Notes
- As opposed to Chinese-style or Cantonese-style Char Siu, Taiwanese-style Char Siu is much less sweet. Savory and umami flavors are pronounced instead.
What liquid do you marinate in? And for how long?
Hi David! You don’t actually need to marinate the mushrooms in anything for this recipe. Just need to braise them in the braising liquid!
Hi, is the 5 spice supposed to be 5 teaspoons? Made the recipe and it felt off.
Hi Elizabeth!! Thank you for catching this! It’s actually just 1/2 teaspoon. Somehow the recipe card transferred the “five” in “five-spice” to the numerical amount.