This bold and comforting dish is a delicious twist on a classic takeout featuring all the must haves: fast, easy, flavorful, and belly pleasing. Our rich Vegan Chinese Pepper “Steak” is bursting with umami flavor and wholesome ingredients; you won’t believe how easy it is to make. Mixed hearty mushrooms play a starring role in this delicious vegan nod to Chinese Pepper Steak. This simple Asian dish is a quick way to spice up your weeknight dinner table making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This week’s Whip It Up Wednesday is our crazy delicious Vegan Chinese Pepper “Steak. This nod to an Asian classic had us skipping around the kitchen like kids. We tore into it like crazy.
Chinese Pepper Steak is one of Michael’s favorite dishes. He absolutely loves it, so Mom and I started working on this one last Spring. We wanted this classic to be every bit as delicious as the original, minus the steak, of course.
Whip it up Wednesday
As you already know, every Wednesday, we feature a quick and easy recipe that can be “whipped up” in 20 minutes or less. This recipe can be made in about 20 minutes, and makes it perfect for busy weeknight meals.
Mushrooms
It felt like a natural conversion to replace the steak with mushrooms. We selected Baby Bellas and sliced Portabella mushroom caps for this recipe since they are a “meaty” mushroom, but you can pretty much use any type of mushrooms that you enjoy.
Additionally, you don’t “have” to scrape out the frilly gills of the large portabella mushroom caps. Removing them just creates a cleaner look as the gills tend to muck up the look of the sauce.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Saucy Goodness
This beautiful sauce is bold, sweet, spicy with a tiny bit of heat and just all-around amazing. This sauce is easily adapted to your personal preference. If you’re not a lover of spicy foods, you can eliminate any heat by using less red pepper flakes or none at all. Additionally, you can also control the sweetness by using less maple syrup. It’s totally within your control.
Not a Mushroom Fan?
Don’t worry, if you are not a mushroom fan, this dish is totally customizable to your food favorites. If you are looking for mushroom substitutions, here are some awesome protein-packed add-in options:
- Marinated and baked cubed tofu
- Rehydrated soy curls
- Chickpeas or edamame
- Marinated and baked cubed tempeh
- Add in a variety of extra veggies
This vegan nod to the classic Asian dish was crazy delicious. We hope you enjoy our new Whip It Up Wednesday quick and easy ideas!
If you try this delicious dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Products Used:
- Large enamel/ceramic lined or non-stick skillet
Vegan Chinese Pepper “Steak”
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 Minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Description
This bold and comforting dish is a delicious twist on a classic takeout featuring all the must haves: fast, easy, flavorful, and belly pleasing. Our rich Vegan Chinese Pepper “Steak” is bursting with umami flavor and wholesome ingredients; you won’t believe how easy it is to make. Mixed hearty mushrooms play a starring role in this delicious vegan nod to Chinese Pepper Steak. This simple Asian dish is a quick way to spice up your weeknight dinner table making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 – [ 8 oz. package ] Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced *
- 1 – [ 6 oz. package ] Portabella mushroom caps, sliced *
- 1 Tablespoon reduced sodium tamari *
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
Sauce Ingredients:
- ¼ cup reduced sodium tamari *
- 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon organic maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 Tablespoon white miso *
- Pinch to ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (+/-) *
- ¼ teaspoon dried ground mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable broth *
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (or thickener of choice)
Other Ingredients:
- Steamed brown rice (or rice of choice)
Optional Toppings
- Sesame seeds
- Sliced green onions
Instructions
- Place all the Sauce Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk, set aside.
- In an enamel/ceramic lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the sliced mushrooms and 1 Tablespoon tamari, sauté for 5 minutes over medium-high heat to allow the mushrooms to release their liquid.
- Remove mushrooms from the skillet (it’s OK if there is some liquid still in the pan from the mushrooms), then add the sliced bell peppers; sauté until the bell peppers have reached the desired tenderness (approx. 3 to 5 minutes – or longer). Then add the sautéed mushrooms and sauce, increase the heat, simmer until the sauce thickens and the bell peppers and mushrooms are completely coated in the sauce. Lower the heat and simmer for one minute.
- Remove from heat, serve over rice with your favorite toppings.
Notes
*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
*Miso: We use Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free. Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. You can also substitute with chickpea miso for a soy free version.
*Mushrooms: You can pretty much use just about any mushroom you want (any amount you want) with this recipe. The key is to slice them a little thicker than normal just, so you get thicker textured mushrooms. If you use large Portabella mushrooms or Portabella mushroom caps be sure to scrap out and remove the frilly gills before slicing and adding to the skillet.
*Mushroom Substitutions: If you are not a fan of mushrooms, you can substitute with cooked chickpeas (or 15 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed), edamame, baked and marinated tofu or tempeh cubes, frozen Chinese veggies, or rehydrated soy curls. If you don’t have to be gluten free, you can use baked seitan slices.
*Red Pepper Flakes: We love red pepper flake, but it can really kick up the heat in this dish as the red pepper flakes really shine through. If you are concerned about the heat level or if you are serving to children, scale back the red pepper flake to a tiny pinch
*Serving: 3
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 5 days
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Made this last night- it was so delicious! It tasted just like something you’d get from a Chinese restaurant. I had to use ground ginger instead of fresh, and it gave it an extra gingery taste, but I really liked it and it was sort of springy and bright while also being umami. Wonderful job! I’m so happy my MIL recommended your blog to me.
Hi there Renatta 🙂
Awesome! We are super thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing how your made this recipe your own. We appreciate your fantastic feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I just made this for tonight’s dinner, following the recipe, including the suggested addition of soy curls. To quote my skeptical carnivore son: “This tastes just like pepper steak!” Once again, you’re recipe gets a two thumbs up! Thank you!
Hi there Yael 🙂
Yaaaaay!!! We are so glad that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
My husband and I love this recipe. I’m wondering why you say to scrape out the gills. They don’t taste bad and whenever I use portabellas I always leave them. Is it just an aesthetic issue for some people? How do the muck up the recipe? Thanks!
Hi there Janet 🙂 Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We are SO excited that you and your husband love this recipe! It is common practice to scrape out the gills from a portobello mushroom as the gills tend to “muddy” or darken the dishes as it cooks, which creates an unpleasant color and since we eat with our eyes first, it is common to remove them. Additionally, sometimes the gills can have a slightly bitter flavor and/or carry sand/grit that can make dishes gritty. It isn’t necessary to remove them as they are edible; however, for… Read more »
Thank you!
Oh. My. Goodness. This was so good!! Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!! ?
First week of WFPB eating and I’ve been so impressed with your recipes. Thanks!
Hi there Sandra ?
Awesome! We are SO excited that you enjoyed this recipe and are looking forward to leftovers. We are so glad to be on this WFPB journey with you! Thank you so much for your kind words about our recipes. We truly appreciate you and your support. Happy cooking!
-Ameera and Robin ?
Delicious…so easy to make and a very quick cook time! Served over brown rice and it was yummy!
Hi there Marlo 🙂
Woo hoo!!! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe! We appreciate you sharing your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I made this tonight, and it was amazing! It hit all the right flavor notes on my tongue and was hugely satisfying. I will definitely be making this again. Amazing!
Hi there Dana 🙂
Yaaaayyy! We are SUPER excited that you enjoyed this dish and flavors – so glad that you plan to make it again too! We appreciate you sharing your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Is the Molasses just plain everyday variety or like black molasses or does it matter?
Hi there Suzie 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We used Grandma’s Molasses (not black strap molasses).
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
this sounds amazing. I have everything to make this except the molasses. will it mess it up too much without it?
Hi there Grace 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. You can leave the molasses out. It will only mildly impact the flavor. Thank you so much!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
You, my friends, have some of the most drool-inducing photos on the web. I am pinning this to try when I get my hands on some good portabellas. Thank you.
Hi there Chessie,
Thank you so much for the lovely comment and support. We appreciate it.
-Ameera and Robin