Stir-Fried Portobellos with Ginger and Oyster Sauce

Photos Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Let me just preface this entry with the fact that this may be the longest-winded recipe in the history of recipes. Be warned that if you want to prepare something quick and easy, this is not for you. Cook's Illustrated is not exactly known for providing the most concise or simple recipes. I can tell you however, that although long and involved, their recipes are dependable and in my experience, always delicious. The reason for this is that Cook's Illustrated has an incredible test kitchen where they cook dishes every which way in order to come up with the best preparations. Their kitchen is so good that it is known as "America's Test Kitchen." It employs more than three dozen test cooks, editors and cookware specialists. Their mission is to test every recipe until they understand how and why they work. They also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients to determine which brands offer the best value and performance. Pretty cool, don't you think? If you are interested, their website is cooksillustrated.com. I have a subscription to their magazine and I own one of their cookbooks. Both are well worth the investment.

This recipe was definitely an elevated version of stir-fry. The ingredients were beautiful (I used all organic vegetables) and the end result was worth the preparation time. I particularly enjoyed the texture and flavor of the portobellos. The dish was light but it also felt hearty because the portobellos were meaty. I was impressed with the sauce as well. In my experience, stir-fry sauces are often too salty but this one was not. I could taste the toasted sesame oil cutting through the saltiness of the soy sauce and oyster sauce; a very nice touch for sure. The added bonus is that the final result not only tasted great, it was pretty too. I love it when everything comes together.

Ingredients:

Sauce-

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Glaze-

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sugar

Stir-Fry-

4 tsp minced or grated fresh ginger

2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6 (6-inch wide) portobello mushroom caps, underside gills removed

4 small carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 ounces snow peas, tips and strings removed

1 pound bok choy, greens cut into 1/2 inch wide strips and stalks halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch wide pieces

1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

For the sauce, whisk all ingredients together and set aside. For the glaze, whisk all ingredients together and set aside. For the stir-fry, in a small bowl, combine ginger, garlic and 1 tsp of the oil. Heat 3 Tbsp more oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook, without stirring until browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip mushrooms over, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until tender and browned on second side, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add glaze and cook until it has thickened and coats the mushrooms, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to bowl.

Rinse skillet clean and dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tsp more oil in skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add carrots and cook until beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth, cover and steam carrots until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook until remaining liquid evaporates, about 30 seconds; transfer to bowl with mushrooms. Add remaining 1 tsp oil to skillet and place over high heat until just smoking. Add snow peas, bok choy stalks and cook until beginning to brown and soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in bok choy greens and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.

Clear center of skillet, add garlic mixture and cook, mashing mixture into pan, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Stir garlic mixture into vegetables. Return cooked mushrooms and carrots with accumulated juices to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk sauce to recombine, then add to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and vegetables are coated, about 1 minute. Transfer to platter, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

I served the stir-fry with sticky white rice. The combination was perfect. On a side note, I learned a great trick tonight. To remove the string from a snow pea, just snap the tip while pulling down along the flat side of the pod. I have to admit that I have never removed strings from snow peas and I learned tonight that they are even more pleasant to eat sans string.