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