Vegan Braised Shitake Mushroom with Baby Bok Choy

I had a friend come over for dinner tonight so I made two dinners tonight. Actually for most nights I make two dinners since my wife, Therese and the kids are not vegans...yet ;) I have not converted them yet but maybe over time they will come over from the "dark" side. The non-vegan dinner was a 9-hour sous vide pork roast with a mushroom gravy, roasted beets and Yukon gold potatoes, grilled squash, and the hummus that I made the night before with the whole wheat flat bread. I'm going to save a future blog about sous vide cooking. It deserves a posting to itself.

The main event was the vegan braised shitake mushrooms with baby bok choy. This dish is a spin off from a dish served in Cantonese restaurants. The difference with my dish is that there is no oil at all and it is almost as good. I say almost since a 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil would give it a nice kick. Since I'm still on a oil free diet I left the oil out.  Here is the recipe that serves two:
• 8-10 medium size "best" quality dried shitake mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 cups of vegetable or mushroom stock
• 2-3 tsp. of Braggs Amino Acid
• 2 tsp. grated ginger
• 4oz of baby bok choy

There are different qualities of dried mushrooms ranging from $10 to $20/lb. For this dish, don't be cheap and pay the extra for the better quality mushrooms. You won't regret it!  Here is a photo of good quality versus cheaper quality:

Note the ones on the left are shaped more like flower, thicker, and more uniformed in shape. The ones on the right are thin and less uniformed. There is a big difference in taste. The better quality will rehydrate in water quicker and the intensity of the flavor is stronger than the cheaper variety.

First thing to do is rehydrate the dried shitake mushroom in hot water for at least 20min. After the rehydration period slice the mushroom and place in a medium size pot. Also add the soaking water to the pot as well. Add the remaining ingredients including the stock. Bring mushroom to a boil uncovered. Once it boils, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot. Let this simmer for a minimum of an hour to braise properly. Taste the mushroom after an hour and add salt or additional Braggs Amino Acid if needed. To thicken the sauce add a corn starch mixture. Clean the baby bok choy and boil in water for no longer than 2 minutes. Overcooking the bok choy will ruin the taste, texture, and all the great vitamins.

To serve add some Jasmine brown rice to a dish, place the boiled bok choy around the rice and spoon some mushroom mixtures over the bok choy.

This is a quick and easy recipe to make! You'll be surprised how filling and tasty this turns out. I'll be bringing the leftovers to the Mariner's game tomorrow evening :)