19 Best Asian mushroom recipes

19 of the best Asian mushroom recipes, from side dishes to mains (including vegan ideas), which are easy enough to make after a busy day at work!

Mushrooms are super versatile and full of umami. In fact, they're often used as a meat substitute for those on a plant-based diet! (I actually made a mushroom "pork" jerky for Chinese New Year, but the recipe isn't good enough to share (yet)- I do have some ideas as to what you can do with leftover Chinese BBQ pork jerky (bak kwa) here though!)

Scroll down for 19 Asian mushroom ideas for you if you are as much of a fan of this fungi as I am!

What kind of mushrooms?

You can use most types of mushrooms but shiitake (fresh and dried), wood ear, chestnut, button, king oyster (eryngii) and oyster mushrooms are amongst the most common in Asian food.

Note: don't soak cloud ear mushrooms (black fungus mushrooms) for too long- it can cause harmful bacteria to grow and 1 lady actually died after eating black fungus that had been soaked overnight.

How to grow

There are actually kits that allow you to grow your own mushrooms at home, but I've never dared to try- there are so many poisonous mushrooms out there and I won't be able to tell if I inadvertently grew the wrong kind! If you're interested, here's more information about cultivating your own shrooms.

Soups

Chinese Chicken & Shiitake Mushroom soup

A healthy, nutritious and super easy Chinese soup that uses chicken and shiitake mushrooms.

Click here for a delicious soup recipe

If you don't have any spring onions at home, here is a collection of alternative garnishes that you can use for this Japanese soup! And if you end up with too many red dates after making this Chinese soup, you can brew some jujube tea or cook 1 of these sweet and savoury red date recipes.

Japanese onion & mushroom soup

This light and comforting soup is done in under 30 minutes but full of flavour. I've eaten in a ton of Japanese restaurants but never come across this, so had to include it in this Asian mushroom recipes round-up!

Click here for Japanese mushroom soup

Side dishes

3 lettuce cups filled with ground turkey and mushrooms.

Quick Eryngii Mushrooms (3-ingredients)

A 25-minute, easy to make and delicious eryngii mushroom recipe. These have a nice meaty texture which make them great meat substitutes for vegan meals.

Check out this recipe

A plate of seared mushrooms tossed in a butter soy sauce.

Japanese marinated mushrooms

This Asian salad is quick (done in under 30 minutes), zesty and delicious with an average review of 4.97 stars

Click here for the Japanese salad recipe

Asian Lettuce Cups, filled with ground meat and mushrooms

In Chinese restaurants, we usually eat these Lettuce Cups after Peking duck- the skin is carved off to use in wraps, and the meat is minced and served in lettuce. This recipe has cleverly done something similar with ground turkey, which is a great way of dealing with Thanksgiving leftovers! Here are more ideas on what to do with leftover Thanksgiving roast poultry.

Click here for Asian lettuce cups

Mushroom San Choy Bow

Similar to the recipe above, but this is a no-meat version for vegetarians!

Click here for the Chinese mushroom recipe

Korean shiitake mushrooms side dish

With over 50 5-star reviews, this mushroom recipe must be doing something right! Maybe the fact that is requires only 4 main ingredients and done in 10-15 minutes!

Click here for a Korean mushroom recipe

Close-up of stir-fried shiitake mushrooms.

Broccoli & mushroom stir-fry

With over 90 reviews and an almost 5-star rating, how could I give this quick Asian-inspired mushroom stir-fry recipe a miss?

Click here for the 10-minutes mushrooms recipe

Close-up of broccoli and mushrooms in a skillet.

Curries & Stews

A bowl of Indian mushroom curry next to a plate of rice.

Mushroom Masala Curry

An easy, delicious Punjabi style mushroom curry with a flavourful onion-tomato gravy that has over 50 reviews averaging 4.9 stars.

Click here for mushroom curry

Thai-inspired tofu & mushrooms curry

This Asian mushroom curry is full of flavour and a great fridge clear out recipe!

Click here for a mushroom curry recipe

Mushroom Palak Paneer

Rich in protein, this mushroom recipe gets its green colour from pureed spinach, so is a great way of increasing your iron intake!

Click here for Mushroom Palak Paneer

Egg tofu & mushroom stir-fry

This easy, healthy Chinese stir-fry dish is a great weekday dinner.

Click here for a Chinese mushroom recipe

A plate of rice with egg tofu and mushrooms.

Mushrooms in an Indian Mustard Sauce (Mushroom Jhal Deva)

A quick Indian mushroom recipe that goes very well with chapathis.

Click here for a mustard mushroom recipe

Mushrooms on a fancy white serving platter.

Mains

A plate of stir-fried Japanese udon noodles.

Mushroom Briyani Rice

This South Indian vegetarian rice recipe can be on the table in 45 minutes!

Click here for the biryani recipe

Yellow mushroom rice on a white platter.

Stir fried Japanese Udon

This udon and mushroom recipe is an easy stir-fry for a weekday dinner- full of umami and a little spicy, it's packed with flavour.

Click here for mushroom stir-fried noodles

Vegan

Fresh shiitake mushrooms also make a good vegan alternative to dried shrimp in recipes such as Mee Siam- you will need to add a bit of kelp stock to mimic the brininess of the sea as well as sugar for sweetness, then you're good to go!