Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy, or xiang gu cai xin (香菇菜心) is a popular and very traditional Shanghai vegetable dish usually served during Chinese New Year in Shanghainese homes.
Made with baby bok choy (sometimes called Shanghai bok choy) and fragrant braised dried Chinese mushrooms, it’s also a great dish to serve to your vegetarian or vegan guests! (You’ll just need a quick substitution of vegetarian oyster sauce for regular oyster sauce.)
A Satisfying, Popular Chinese Vegetable Side Dish
I’m not sure why Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy isn’t more popular in the US, but lately, we’ve looked for it in our favorite local Chinese restaurants and find it on the menu more often than not! After realizing how satisfying this dish can be, we decided it was time to try our hand at it!
Now, you’re probably thinking why Judy isn’t making this dish, being the guru of all things Shanghai, where she grew up. Well, I, the Cantonese guy in the family, volunteered for this recipe because it’s just *that* easy to make.
We hope you enjoy this one! Let’s cook!
Braised Mushrooms with Bok Choy: Recipe Instructions
Place the dried Chinese mushrooms into a medium bowl, and pour 2-3 cups of hot water over them. Place a plate over the bowl so the mushrooms are completely submerged. Because the mushrooms are small, they should reconstitute quickly. After 15 minutes, cut off the stems of the mushrooms and return them to the water to soak for another 15 minutes.
Wash your cut Shanghai bok choy in a large bowl of water so the vegetables are fully submerged. Agitating or stirring the vegetables in the water will release any dirt or sand. Repeat this process another 2 times or as necessary, until the water is clean and there is no sand or dirt at the bottom of the bowl.
After your mushrooms are done soaking, transfer to a plate and gently squeeze out the excess water. Set the mushrooms and the soaking water aside.
Bring 6 cups of water, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Blanch the Shanghai bok choy for 40 seconds, stirring occasionally. They should be just wilted and bright green. Scoop out the bok choy into a bowl and pour 2 cups of cool water over them. The water will stop the cooking process, but you don’t want your veggies to be ice cold, so pour the bok choy into a colander right after they’ve been submerged in the cool water. Drain.
Next, arrange the bok choy into a circle around a large serving plate, with a space in the middle for the mushrooms.
Now, heat your wok over medium high heat. Spread 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil around the perimeter. Add the finely minced garlic and mushrooms, and stir fry for 10 seconds. Stir in the Shaoxing wine.
Next, carefully pour the mushroom soaking water into the wok, making sure that you don’t pour any sediment from the bowl into the wok.
While the liquid comes up to a simmer, add ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce, 1½ tablespoons regular soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce, 1½ teaspoons sugar, ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil, and ⅛ teaspoon white pepper. Stir until combined, and turn the heat down to simmer for 5 minutes.
Next, mix the cornstarch slurry and slowly pour it into the sauce while stirring constantly. After letting the mushrooms cook for an additional minute, taste the sauce. If needed, re-season with more soy sauce, sugar, or oyster sauce to your own preference. Add more hot water if the sauce is too thick or more cornstarch slurry if the sauce is too thin. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
Transfer the mushrooms and sauce to the center of your cooked Shanghai baby bok choy, and serve this Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy immediately for best results!
But if you are serving many dishes, this one is a good candidate to make first, because you can keep the braised mushrooms in a pot ready to warm up while you complete other dishes!
Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy
Ingredients
- 2½ ounces small dried Chinese Mushrooms (70 grams)
- 10 ounces Shanghai baby bok choy (280 grams, bottoms trimmed and split in half lengthwise)
- 2½ tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (use vegetarian oyster sauce to keep the dish vegan)
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
Instructions
- Place the dried Chinese mushrooms into a medium bowl, and pour 2-3 cups of hot water over them. Place a plate over the bowl so the mushrooms are completely submerged. Because the mushrooms are small, they should reconstitute quickly. After 15 minutes, cut off the stems of the mushrooms and return them to the water to soak for another 15 minutes.
- Wash your cut Shanghai bok choy in a large bowl of water so the vegetables are fully submerged. Agitating or stirring the vegetables in the water will release any dirt or sand. Repeat this process another 2 times or as necessary, until the water is clean and there is no sand or dirt at the bottom of the bowl.
- After your mushrooms are done soaking, transfer to a plate and gently squeeze out the excess water. Set the mushrooms and the soaking water aside.
- Bring 6 cups of water, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Blanch the Shanghai bok choy for 40 seconds, stirring occasionally. They should be just wilted and bright green. Scoop out the bok choy into a bowl and pour 2 cups of cool water over them. The water will stop the cooking process, but you don’t want your veggies to be ice cold, so pour the bok choy into a colander right after they’ve been submerged in the cool water. Drain.
- Next, arrange the bok choy into a circle around a large serving plate, with a space in the middle for the mushrooms.
- Now, heat your wok over medium high heat. Spread 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil around the perimeter. Add the finely minced garlic and mushrooms, and stir fry for 10 seconds. Stir in the Shaoxing wine.
- Next, carefully pour the mushroom soaking water into the wok, making sure that you don’t pour any sediment from the bowl into the wok.
- While the liquid comes up to a simmer, add ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce, 1½ tablespoons regular soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce, 1½ teaspoons sugar, ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil, and ⅛ teaspoon white pepper. Stir until combined, and turn the heat down to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Next, mix the cornstarch slurry and slowly pour it into the sauce while stirring constantly. After letting the mushrooms cook for an additional minute, taste the sauce. If needed, re-season with more soy sauce, sugar, or oyster sauce to your own preference. Add more hot water if the sauce is too thick or more cornstarch slurry if the sauce is too thin. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Transfer the mushrooms and sauce to the center of your cooked Shanghai baby bok choy, and serve this Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy immediately for best results!
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