I used a combination of asian mushrooms (fresh and dried) to make a hearty Chinese gravy that is quick and easy to make.  I served it over a plate of steamed soft tofu.  You could also serve this mushroom gravy over steamed broccoli or a plate of stir fried Chinese vegetables.

Photo below:  This dish would have been more visually appealing if I had used fresh shimeji (aka beech) mushrooms, but they weren’t in season at the time.

Chinese Mushroom Gravy on Tofu Recipe

makes 6 servings alongside rice and other dishes

Note:  Use a combination of any fresh and/or dried mushrooms that you like.  Oyster (especially fresh king oyster), shiitake, maitake, matsutake, and fresh shimeji (aka beech) and enoki all work well in this dish.

6 blocks of fresh, soft tofu

8 small, dried shiitake mushrooms (or 4 to 6 of the medium or large size), rehydrated in hot water for at least 30 minutes; remove stems (Note: if you are using medium or large mushrooms, slice them)

0.5 to 1 ounce of dried maitake and/or matsutake mushrooms, rehydrated in hot water for at least 30 minutes; slice any large pieces (I received these from Marx Foods)

1 cup fresh shimeji (aka beech) mushrooms

1/2 of a 3.5 ounce/99 g package of fresh enoki mushrooms, roots removed (Note: You could use canned enoki mushrooms, but fresh is preferable.)

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

ground white pepper

pinch granulated white sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water

Gently rinse the blocks of tofu under cool running water and pat dry with paper towel.  Plate them on a heat proof serving dish.  Set up your steaming equipment.  I use a wok with a lid and a steaming rack (see my post on How to Steam Cook Food here).  Bring the water to a boil over high heat.  When the water has reached a rolling boil, place the plate of tofu into the steamer and steam until the tofu is heated through, about 12 minutes.  Once the tofu is done, carefully pour off any water that may be on the plate.

While the tofu is steaming, in a medium sized sauce pot, combine 1 cup of water with the chicken broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and a dash or two of ground white pepper and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Add the shiitake mushrooms.  When the sauce reboils, add the remaining mushrooms.  Once the sauce comes to a boil again, lower the heat slightly to maintain a gentle boil (uncovered) until the mushrooms are cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Then add the cornstarch in water by pouring it in a thin stream while stirring slowly and continuously.  Once the sauce has reached your desired thickness, pour it over the tofu and serve immediately with rice.