I bought some shiitake mushrooms at the farmer’s market and wanted to make them into something nice. This recipe works for many different types of mushrooms. It also works for baby bella, crimini, or any of the standard mushrooms that you can find in any grocery store.
The mushrooms were $16 per pound. I bought $10 worth, which was just under two-thirds of a pound.
This can be a side dish, or served on top of a piece of meat like steak. I ate it with a piece of toasted sourdough bread for a light lunch.
I like that this dish has a rich umami flavor from the mushrooms and the soy sauce, without relying on ultra-processed food ingredients.
How to Make Shiitake Mushrooms Sautéed in Soy Sauce
Equipment
Saute pan large enough to hold all of the mushrooms
Strainer to rinse the mushrooms
Spatula
Knife and cutting board, unless you have pre-cut mushrooms.
Ingredients
2/3 – 1 pound fresh mushrooms such as Shiitake, Baby Bella, or Crimini
2 tablespoons soy sauce or low – sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon organic avocado oil, or your preferred neutral cooking oil
1/4 cup water, as needed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Optional ingredients
Salt, to taste if desired
Directions
Put avocado oil in pan on medium heat. Wait for it to heat up. Oil will start to look shimmery.
Use a strainer to help you rinse the mushrooms under running water. Take extra care to check the undersides of the mushrooms to make sure there is no dirt left.
Using a sharp knife slice the mushrooms into strips. Remember that as they cook down they will get smaller.
Keeping the pan on medium heat, add the mushrooms to the pan with the oil.
Cook the mushrooms until they start browning, occasionally stirring the mushrooms in the pan. This will take a few minutes. If the mushrooms start to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a few table spoons of water.
When the mushrooms start to brown, add the garlic powder. Spread it out so that it does not clump up.
If at any point the mushrooms start to stick to the bottom of the pan, add more water.
When the mushrooms look like they are almost done cooking, add the soy sauce and stir. Turn the heat down to medium – low. The soy sauce will start to thicken and cook down.
Once the mushrooms look cooked through and the soy sauce is cooked down, turn off the heat and put the mushrooms in a serving dish.
Notes on Ingredients
Mushrooms
I used shiitake mushrooms, but there are many different types of mushrooms that this would work with. Some of them are available pre-sliced from the store and that will make this very easy.
Oil
I used organic avocado oil from Costco. You can use any neutral cooking oil you prefer.
Soy Sauce
Pay close attention to the label for the soy sauce you pick. There is a wide variety in ingredients based on different brands. Cheaper types of soy sauce will be UPF, but other brands are not.
I used Kroger store brand low-sodium soy sauce. This bottle is an ultra-processed food. I will finish off the bottle that I have, and then see if there is something better available.
It is probably better to just use less of a full-sodium soy sauce that is a better quality.
Garlic powder
Dried garlic powder is an easy way to add garlic flavor. It does not have the same issues with burning that small pieces of garlic do.
Many jars of minced garlic are also not ultra processed foods. They tend to contain garlic, water, salt, and some citric acid. If you want to substitute jarred minced garlic, add it near the very end to prevent burning.
Variations
Add peppers. You can slice up a bell pepper into strips and add it to the pan at the same time as the mushrooms.
Add herbs. You can add about a teaspoon of herbs such as thyme (stem removed) at the end of the cooking time.