The reward at the end of this simple recipe is a luxurious, umami-packed, ultra thick mushroom gravy perfect for pasta, potatoes, biscuits and so much more!
Mushrooms. I’m not that into them. It’s probably a texture thing for me, because I pretty much always avoid eating them. But I’ve been forced to concede that I DO love mushroom flavor once you break those suckers down into something more palatable. Mix them with soy and fish sauce and it’s a decadent, savory punch straight to the dome. The only way to describe this is “total umami bomb” and it makes almost everything delicious.
One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s made of pantry staples. If fish sauce and rice wine vinegar aren’t things you typically have in your pantry, scoop up a bottle of each and they will last you a lifetime. The other great thing about this recipe is that it’s incredibly cheap. You can concoct something awesome out of the very cheapest mushrooms at the grocery store- but if you’re feeling more ambitious, mix and match mushrooms for different flavors!
Once you’ve made your mushroom sauce, what can you do with it? I am of the belief that it’s appropriate on pretty much anything pasta sauce or gravy would be. I especially like to put it on pasta and mashed potatoes, but it also goes great over biscuits, chicken, tacos, pork chops, tortilla chips, asparagus, meatballs…the list goes on and on. It’s even great over Swedish Rye Bread (although I know my mom is rolling over at the idea of having it with anything besides Swedish gravy!) (LINK)
I can confirm that you can keep this recipe covered in the fridge for up to three days. It’s not that it goes bad right after that magical time, it’s just that I have never gotten it to last longer than that! Once it’s made, it’s very easy to find excuses to eat it- sometimes just by the spoonful!
Made as is, this recipe makes aconcentrated and thick mushroom gravy.. Because of this, it is admittedly not the most ultra-pourable mushroom gravy. Feel free to add water or broth after the final blending step until it reaches your desired consistency.
Looking for other amazingly versatile sauce recipes? Try my Hatch Chile Horsey Sauce, Kaffir Basil Pesto, New Mexican Style Red Chile Sauce or Cuban Mojo recipes!
Ultra Umami Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
- 16 oz white mushrooms (or other desired varieties)
- 1 medium yellow onion (about 2 cups diced)
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1 tsp red chile flakes (crushed red pepper)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Thinly slice mushrooms and roughly dice onion.
- Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until starting to turn translucent, stirring often.
- Add mushrooms and stir. Cook for 13-15 minutes until the mushrooms are broken down and the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
- Add chile flakes, onion powder, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
- Add rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and fish sauce. Cook until the liquid has evaporated again, about 5-6 minutes.
- In a small separate bowl, whisk together chicken broth and corn starch to make a slurry. Add slurry to mushroom mixture and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes more.
- Turn off heat. Add mushroom mixture and water to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Add salt if necessary.
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