20-Minute Mushroom Stir Fry

This five spice mushroom stir fry is the perfect vegetarian weeknight meal. It comes together in 20 minutes or less and is full of flavor. Umami flavors from the soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, and five spice powder make it so you don’t even miss the meat.

The other day I was watching an old episode of Top Chef where the chefs had to choose between a variety of ingredients, and none of them wanted the vegetables. I felt kind of sad because I think meat gets so much attention when vegetables are just as good. Honestly, if you can serve a great vegetable dish, people are so much more impressed than when you serve a great meat dish because people don’t expect vegetables to be good without meat. So I really wanted to make more vegetable forward dishes just to show that vegetables are yummy on their own. Case in point, this yummy five spice mushroom stir fry.

Personally, I think Asian cuisine has the best vegetable dishes. All the yummy flavors from ingredients like soy sauce and vegan oyster sauce give vegetables an amazing umami flavor to a point where you really don’t miss the meat. In this mushroom stir fry recipe, I used five spice for that purpose. Five spice creates that umami, savory flavor. That combined with shiitake mushrooms make this a winning dish.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

Mushroom Stir Fry

• Shiitake mushrooms – This is the star of the dish. I love the umami flavor and meaty texture of these mushrooms. You can make this dish with a variety of different mushrooms. Great substitutes are porcini, cremini, and portobello mushrooms.
• Yellow onion – Adds sweetness to the dish. Substitute with shallots or white onions.
• Garlic – Adds more flavor to the dish.
• Red bell pepper – You can use any kind of bell pepper for this recipe.
• Green onions – Adds some freshness to this dish. If you don’t have green onions, you can leave them out.
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Five spice powder – Chinese five spice powder is a combination of 5 spices, typically cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, star anise, and cloves. I typically use store bought five spice powder for all my recipes from five spice chicken to five spice duck. You can also make five spice powder at home (my recipe)!

Sauce

• Soy sauce – Adds umami flavor to this dish. I used low sodium soy sauce for my recipe. Substitute with tamari for a gluten free alternative.
• Vegan oyster sauce – Vegan oyster sauce is made with mushrooms and is a great substitute for regular oyster sauce. (See my vegetarian Vietnamese spring rolls as an example.) Some vegan oyster sauces are also gluten free. I use Lee Kum Kee vegan oyster sauce which is gluten free. If it doesn’t matter that this recipe is vegetarian, use regular oyster sauce as a substitute.
• Rice wine vinegar – Helps balance out the umami flavors in this dish. White distilled vinegar is a great substitute.
• Shaoxing wine – This is a Chinese cooking wine that adds flavor to the dish. A good substitute is dry sherry. If you don’t want to buy either, you can also make this dish without this ingredient, but it won’t be as tasty.
• Honey – Adds sweetness to balance out the umami flavors of this dish.
• Cornstarch and water – These 2 ingredients are mixed together to create a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Cornstarch can be substituted with tapioca starch (what my mom typically uses).

How to make my five spice mushroom stir fry

First, prep your ingredients. Slice 4 oz of mushrooms, 1/4 of a yellow onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 small red bell pepper, and 2 stalks of green onions. Set aside.

Combine 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of vegan oyster sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, and 1 tbsp honey in a small bowl. Mix and set aside.

Heat 2 tsp of oil over medium high heat. Add the yellow onion and cook for 30 seconds until it starts to soften. Next, add the shiitake mushrooms, garlic, red bell pepper, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, and 1/4 tsp of five spice powder to the pan. Mix and cook for 1-2 minutes until all ingredients are cooked through. Add the sauce to the pan and mix.

Mix 1 tsp of cornstarch and 3 tbsp of water and add to the pan with the green onions. Stir until the sauce thickens (1-2 minutes). Remove from the heat and serve over a bed of white rice. Enjoy!

Mushroom Stir Fry Video

Tips on how to make the perfect mushroom stir fry

Cook over high heat

Stir fries, especially vegetarian stir fries like my red bean curd stir fry, need to be cooked over high heat. This prevents the stir fry from becoming soggy.

Other vegetables you can use for this stir fry

You can use a variety of vegetables for this stir fry. Great examples are asparagus, baby corn, carrots, bamboo shoots, and cabbage. Have fun with it!

How do you store this mushroom stir fry?

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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