There aren’t enough mushrooms on this blog. I’m not sure how they became so under-represented here because we eat them like crazy. But I suppose I don’t make so many “recipes” with mushrooms, I just make them.
So this one is kind of a non-recipe… something we eat pretty often, changing up the vinegars & herbs to create different variations. I’ve done my best below to estimate cups and tablespoons, but I really cooked in increments of “splashes” and “handfuls.”
Ok, I quite commonly cook in splashes and handfuls. It drives my proofreader (my mom) crazy. Does it drive you crazy? Are you a measurer or do you prefer to cook by feel?
mushrooms & wheatberries
Author: Jeanine Donofrio
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 cups mixed mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon (or more) soy sauce or tamari
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon chinese 5 spice powder
- about 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 cup cooked wheat berries
- 1 cup baked tofu, chopped (optional)
- ¼ cup scallions, handful of micro greens, or herbs of your choice
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Once the oil is hot add the shallots, and let them cook until slightly soft, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and stir. Then add a splash of soy sauce... give the pan a good shake, and let the mushrooms cook until they begin to soften, stirring occasionally. 5-8 minutes or so.
- Add in the garlic and five spice powder and stir. Add the mirin to deglaze, scraping off any bits that are sticking to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat. The mushrooms should be good and soft by now, if they're not let them continue to cook until they are. Add the wheatberries, a drizzle of honey, tofu and stir to combine.
- Remove pan from heat and toss in scallions, microgreens, or any fresh herbs that you're using. Taste and adjust seasonings, add a little more soy sauce if necessary.
I love your blog and your cookbook! Similar to Shanna, I was hoping to make this on Sunday as a make-ahead for lunches for the week (I’ll add the microgreens later, great tip). Would you say this should always be served warm or would it also be good cold?
Hi Alex, so sorry for my slow reply! I think this one is best served warm.
I tried this just today and it’s fantastic! I used pot barley instead of wheat berries because it was the only thing missing in my cupboards, but I feel like the texture is relatively the same. It definitely is filling, but with a lighter feeling. I’m not a vegetarian by any means, but looking for healthy meals to get me through university when I’m working at the same time and can be out of the house for up to 17 hours. This is definitely something that would be easy to pack up and wouldn’t spoil even when I don’t have a fridge to keep it until lunch time!
Hi Jillanne, I’m so glad you liked it!
I was just wondering if anybody had made this and took it for lunch the next day and even possibly the next day after that. I’m looking for recipes that will last me two lunches or so for university.
Thanks in advance 🙂
Shanna
Hi Shanna,
This should be great for a few days. If you use the microgreens, I would leave those off until you’re ready to eat (they’ll get soggy after awhile if they’re mixed in).
I just made this – boy was it delicious! I had no idea what wheatberries were. I told the guys at the supermarket: “it’s either a fruit, vegetable or grain” and somehow they found it for me. I bought the kind that was already parboiled so it cut the cooking time down to 15 minutes.
This looks amazing! I’m a huge mushroom fan (after years of being scared of them). And does your mom really proof-read all of your posts? That is awesome! 🙂
yep 🙂
What a wonderful looking dish. Love the texture and chewiness of wheat berries. Love that you paired them up with a nice mixture of mushrooms. Delicious!
Been browsing your blog and am enjoying it! Love that you are not a specific measurement sort of gal…I also cook in handfuls, splashes, and dashes, so your way makes sense to me! Keep up the good work!
mmm looks delicious!!
I used to hate mushrooms but now I can’t get enough! This looks delicious!
looks great! nice change to use wheat berries instead of pasta
Yum! I have never thought to stir fry wheat berries. This reminds me of one of my go-to stir fries which uses Chinese 5 spice. Gosh, it is great, no? 🙂
I know, I love it! I never realized how great it was & now I use it all the time!
This looks delicious! I’ve just gotten in to wheat berries recently, and I love their texture and heartiness. Mixing wheat berries with mushrooms – brilliant! I’ve never heard of chinese 5 spice powder before, though. I feel like I’m missing out. Is it something you can find at any old grocery store or should I look at an Asian market?
It’s probably in your regular grocery store, (I don’t think it’s that exotic of an ingredient). It was in the bulk spice section at my Whole Foods.
Thanks! Just like you said, I found the Chinese 5 spice at Whole Foods, though our store is too small to have it in the bulk section. I made the sautee this evening and really enjoyed it! The soft mushrooms and slightly chewy wheat berries were a perfect contrast, and the 5 spice flavor was quite unique. For my second helping of it, I sprinkled a bit of feta on top, which I thought was pretty tasty. I bet it would be good with some dried fruit like craisins mixed in, too. In the end though, I think I like the recipe best just how you wrote it. It would certainly make it again. Thanks for sharing!
I am also a huge fan of mushrooms, only problem is my husband is not. Means I don’t eat them as much as I’d like. This looks great. Will try it out
Oh, those mixed mushrooms make my heart sing! And I love the Asian touch you bring to the dish.
i’m not usually one for mushrooms, but i think this dish could possible convert me!
I always cook by feel. Making recipes for the blog and trying to quantify things for replication sometimes disrupts the natural flow of cooking. Plus some people complain too much salt, not enough salt, too spicy, not enough spice…. So I think this way of doing this is just real. I love mushrooms. I make them all the time and I love to just snack on them raw. I can’t wait to make this!
I know what you mean, I think I always write salt amounts “to taste,” and spicy things “optional,” since they’re such a personal preference.
mmmm to the mushroom, wheatberry and 5 spice combo! Can’t wait to try this one out.
I’ve been using 5 spice a lot lately, goes really nicely with mushrooms 🙂
Death just became me. The sexy kind.
Love this! I cook a lot with Farro and had always wanted to try wheat berries. This dish inspires me to do just that! I bet this would be yummy with some greens added as well, maybe some bok choy. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I shared it with our readers as well via our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DeliciousKarma
thanks Michelle! I think it would be great with bok choy added.
Those little beech mushrooms are my favorite favorite mushrooms ever. We like to have them with crispy quinoa or in a mushroom soup. I haven’t cooked with wheatberry before, but this sounds and looks super delicious!