What is vegan yu xiang rou si – shredded pork? It translates to:
- Yu – Fish
- Xiang – Fragrance
- Rou – Meat, usually pork
- Si – shreds
The original yu xiang dishes do not contain any fish but the combination of sauces and spices made them taste like that.
I’ve dined at a few places here in Chengdu and one of the typical dishes on the menu is yu xiang rou si. So, I’ve chosen this as my first Sichuan dish to learn and make at home. Many vegetarian and vegan restaurants have really amazing meatless dishes that use whole foods as the base of their cooking. One ingredient I find here the most is MUSHROOMS which is perfect for today’s dish as the texture resembles meat the most.
Vegan yu xiang rou si (shredded pork) step-by-step
Step 1 – First, prepare the mushrooms. Clean the mushrooms with a brush then simply tear them into strips with your fingers.
Or you can use a fork as a claw to shred them into strips. There are 3 ways to prepare the mushrooms:
- You can blanch them in boiling water for a minute or so, then drain and squeeze out all the liquid until ready to use.
- Massage with salt, and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. Then rinse with cold to remove the excess salt and squeeze out the liquid until ready to use.
The above two methods can really remove the ‘mushroom’s taste’ and make it more ready to absorb the sauces. I personally love the mushroom’s taste so I use the last method which is to simply pan fry the strips until they start to dry up. This method gives the mushrooms the meat strip’s texture that I love before tossing them with the sauce.
Step 2 – Next, finely chopped ginger, garlic, and pickled chili.
TIP #1 – ginger to garlic ratio is 1:3 and I used 1:2.5.
I used a red vinegary-type pickled chili but you can use other spicy ones instead. If a spicy one is used, please increase the vinegar or sugar amount to balance out the heat.
Then, prepare the pairing ingredients. I’m using fresh bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms (rehydrate if using the dried ones), and scallions.
Step 3 – To me, the soul of this dish comes from the sauce. It’s savory and the vinegar adds a refreshing punch to it. To make the sauce, simply mix together soy sauce, dark soy sauce (for color), Chinese black vinegar, cooking wine, sugar, mushrooms seasoning, cornstarch, and water until well combined. Set aside.
Step 4 – Heat a large wok with 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add mushrooms and quickly toss until they are coated with oil. Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, tossing regularly. Once the moisture has been released, mushrooms will start to shrink. Continue to cook until they are golden.
TIP #2 – If using a non-stick pan, pan fry the mushrooms without oil until they release their moisture. Cook until they start to dry up and add a tablespoon of oil then continue to sauté until golden.
Push the mushrooms to the side of the wok, add a little more oil and sauté ginger, garlic, and chili until you can’t smell the raw taste of the spices.
Toss with the mushrooms until they are coated.
Add bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms, stir fry for about 30 seconds or so to cook the wood ear mushrooms.
Next, add chopped green onions, toss.
Step 5 – Finally, swirl in the sauce and quickly stir fry everything together until well combined. The sauce will immediately bring all the mushrooms together which will give the dish a bright shine. Taste test and add more vinegar or soy sauce, if needed.
I like to serve it immediately with a bowl of rice.
Other king oyster mushrooms dishes to try
This Vegan Yu Xiang Rou Si (shredded pork) is
- Made from king oyster mushrooms
- Easy to prepare
- accompanied with a flavorful sauce – yu xiang (fish fragrant) without the fish
- best served with a bowl of rice
- quick to make – less than 30 minutes
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear your feedback and see your beautiful re-creation. Leave me a comment, rate it, and tag @woon.heng and #woonheng to your photos on Instagram or Facebook. Happy cooking, friends
Vegan Yu Xiang Rou Si (Shredded Pork)
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds king oyster mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger about ½ inch piece
- 1½ tablespoons minced garlic about 6 cloves
- 2 pickled chili sour, finely chopped (see notes)
- ½ cup fresh wood ear mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup fresh bamboo shoot sliced
- 3 stalks of green onions roughly chopped into 1-inch stick
- 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil used olive oil
Yu Xiang Sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons light soy sauce plus more if needed
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar used Chin Kiang
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce (optional) for color
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon mushrooms seasoning used granules
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Clean mushrooms with a brush, then using your fingers, tear them into thin strips. Optionally, use a fork to shred them into strips.
- If dried wood ear mushrooms are used, rehydrate until soft and slice into strips.
- Mix yu xiang sauce in a bowl until well combined.
- Heat a large wok over medium heat with about 2 tablespoons of oil. Add mushrooms and stir fry until they start to release its moisture. Continue to cook for another 2 -3 minutes until they start to dry up (the amount of mushrooms should shrink to a little over half than you originally put in). Adjust the heat down if it browns too fast or up if it takes longer.
- Push the mushrooms to the side of the wok, then add ginger, garlic, pickled chili, adding more oil if needed. Sauté until you can’t smell the raw taste of ginger or garlic. Fold everything together and stir fry for a few seconds.
- Add the wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots and toss until wood ear mushrooms are fully cooked through. Fold in the chopped green onions.
- Pour in the sauce, and quickly toss for about a minute or so until all ingredients are coated. Taste test and add more soy sauce or vinegar accordingly.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Feel free to pin the below picture on your Pinterest Board for easy reference.
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