Sesame straw mushrooms with ginger (麻油姜炒草菇)
ma you jiang chao cao gu (麻油姜炒草菇)
Straw mushrooms tossed in black sesame oil with plenty of old ginger. A quick, warming, umami-rich vegetable side for the middle and later weeks.
Mushrooms cooked in black sesame oil with a good hit of ginger make one of the easiest warming sides in the confinement kitchen: quick, savoury, and satisfying enough to earn its place next to the soups and braises.
Why this dish
Straw mushrooms carry plenty of natural umami, so the dish tastes rich with very little seasoning. Old ginger and black sesame oil supply the warmth, turning what would be a neutral plate of mushrooms into something that sits comfortably in the month’s palette.
Keep the pan hot
Cook the ginger in the sesame oil first until fragrant, then add the mushrooms to a hot pan and keep them moving so they colour rather than stew in their own liquid. Spring onion at the end brings a little freshness.
For how sides fit the warming diet, see how the 30 days are structured.
The recipe
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Total
- 18 min
- Serves
- 3 as a side
Why this ingredient
Straw mushroom (草菇)
Small, plump mushrooms with a smooth cap and a mild, savoury flavour, common across southern China and Southeast Asia. They cook in minutes and soak up the sesame and ginger well. Fresh are best where you can find them; canned straw mushrooms are a reliable pantry stand-in once drained and rinsed.
Why this ingredient
Old ginger (老姜)
Old ginger is what makes a plain plate of mushrooms a warming confinement dish. Cooking it in the black sesame oil first, until fragrant, is the traditional way to draw out its warmth before the mushrooms go in.
Ingredients
- 300 g straw mushrooms, halved Fresh if you can find them; canned work well drained and rinsed.
- 3 tablespoons black sesame oil The warming fat and defining flavour of the dish.
- 30 g old ginger, sliced A generous amount, cooked in the oil first to build warmth.
- 1 stalk spring onion, cut into lengths Added at the end for freshness.
- Splash of light soy and rice wine Just enough to season and lift the mushrooms.
- Pinch of salt To taste, since the mushrooms carry most of the flavour.
Method
- 1 If using canned straw mushrooms, drain, rinse and pat dry; halve any large ones.
- 2 Warm the black sesame oil in a wok over low heat and cook the ginger until fragrant.
- 3 Raise the heat, add the mushrooms and stir-fry so they colour rather than stew.
- 4 Season with a splash of light soy and rice wine and a pinch of salt.
- 5 Toss through the spring onion and serve.
Notes and substitutions
- Cook the ginger gently in the sesame oil until fragrant before adding the mushrooms.
- Keep the heat high and the pan moving so the mushrooms colour rather than stew.
- If using canned straw mushrooms, drain and rinse them well and pat dry before cooking.
Before you cook this
- Cook mushrooms through fully; do not serve them underdone.
- A splash of rice wine is optional; leave it out if you prefer to avoid alcohol while breastfeeding.
Common questions
Can I use other mushrooms?
Yes. The same sesame oil and ginger treatment works well with button, shiitake or oyster mushrooms. Straw mushrooms are prized for their smooth texture and mild flavour, but the dish is forgiving and adapts to whatever is available.
Are mushrooms warming or cooling?
Mushrooms are usually considered fairly neutral in the tradition, which is why cooking them with a generous amount of old ginger and sesame oil is the simple way to bring the dish into the warming range that confinement favours.