Steamed Seitan with Mushrooms & Dried Lily Flowers
This steamed seitan dish (or substitute any plant-based protein!) is a tasty vegan version of a Cantonese favorite: chicken with mushrooms and lily flowers.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dried wood ear mushrooms
- 1/2 cup dried lily flowers
- 4 large dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups “chicken” seitan, regular seitan, or seitan puffs (can also add soaked bean threads and/or spiced pressed tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1/2 cup mushroom soaking liquid (the water you used to soak the shiitakes; strained)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry cooking sherry)
- 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce (or regular oyster sauce)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 1 scallion (chopped, white and green portions separated)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Take the wood ear mushrooms, dried lily flowers, and dried shiitake mushrooms, and rinse them all separately under running water to make sure any dirt or dust particles are rinsed away.
- Transfer the wood ears, lily flowers, and mushrooms to three separate bowls, and cover with warm water. Soak for one to two hours. Use a plate to cover and press each of the dried ingredients down into the water to make sure they get fully rehydrated.
- Once reconstituted, roughly chop the wood ears. Squeeze some of the excess water from the mushrooms, and slice them (remove any tough stems). Be sure to squeeze the lily flowers dry as well and trim off the tough ends.
- Place your plant-based protein(s) of choice, wood ears, mushrooms, lily flowers, shiitake mushroom soaking liquid, vegetable oil, sesame oil, wine, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, grated ginger, and the white portions of the scallions into a bowl. Mix until most of the liquid is absorbed into the mixture. Set the green portions of the scallions aside. Cover the mixture and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook the dish, add the cornstarch to the mixture until it is uniformly incorporated. At this point, the liquid should be absorbed for the most part, with little to no standing liquid.
- Transfer the mixture to a deep heat-proof plate or pie dish, and sprinkle half of the green portion of the scallions over the top. Place in a covered steamer (find out more about how to set up a steamer, even without special equipment), and steam over medium high heat for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the cover from the steamer, taking care not to drip any water from the cover onto the dish. Sprinkle the rest of the scallions over the top, and serve.