These Chinese Buffet-style Mushrooms are one of my favorite side dishes at the Chinese buffet. They are plump, juicy, and so fun to eat. My mom used to get mad at me for filling myself up with them because she said they were cheap and easy to make.
Chinese buffets have a wide selection of menu items and you will never find two buffets with the exact same ones. However, there are a few dishes that always pop up no matter where you go and mushrooms seem to be one of them.
Every Chinese buffet makes their mushrooms in the same way. From what I can tell, the sauce is made with oyster sauce, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. My favorite place also adds minced garlic so I will do that too.
Key ingredients
Mushrooms: I am using plain button mushrooms for this. I got a giant pack from my grocery store for only $5. They are starting to brown a bit but they are still perfectly fine for cooking with. I washed mine in tap water and spun them dry in a salad spinner. I also cut them in half because they were pretty big.
Soy sauce: This, along with oyster sauce, forms the base of the sauce. If you are using low-sodium soy sauce, make sure to add a little extra salt so the dish is properly seasoned.
Dark soy sauce: If a recipe calls for dark soy sauce, it is mainly to give the dish a dark color. It is not as salty as regular soy sauce and is a little thicker in consistency. I thought the sauce looked a little dull without it, so I added ½ a teaspoon.
Oyster sauce: This is an essential condiment for Chinese cooking at home. Almost all Chinese people will have a bottle in their fridge. It's essentially an oyster-flavored sauce made from oyster extract, water, sugar, cornstarch, and wheat flour. It is less salty than soy sauce and adds a briny umami to dishes.
Cornstarch: Chinese food tastes good because there is always a flavorful sauce sticking to it. You will need a small amount of cornstarch to thicken the sauce so it sticks to the mushrooms.
Cooking the mushrooms
The cooking process is very simple. I am cooking it in a wok, but you can use any type of pan. The key is to cook the mushrooms on high heat at the beginning. This will give them a little bit of brown color and more flavor.
After the mushrooms are cooked a bit, push them to the side and fry garlic in the empty space. My mushrooms leaked some moisture but the garlic was still able to sizzle. Finally, all you do is add the sauce and coat everything well.
I ended up having to add a bit more cornstarch because the mushrooms leaked more water than I anticipated, but I have reflected that in the recipe card measurements. Just follow the recipe and you should be good. Enjoy!
Chinese Buffet Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 pound mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons oil (divided)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the oyster sauce, water, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and cornstarch. Set it aside for later.
- In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes until they reduce in volume by about 20%.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Push the mushrooms to one side of the pan and add another tablespoon of oil to the empty space. Add the garlic and cook for 20-30 seconds.
- Give the sauce mixture a stir then pour it into the skillet. Mix everything to coat in the sauce and keep cooking it until the sauce thickens. If the sauce is too thick, you can add extra water to thin it out. Transfer to a serving dish and serve!
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