This Cantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles is one of my favourite ways to eat lots of veggies! It’s packed with leafy greens, umami mushrooms and glass noodles that soak up all the delicious mushroom sauce. It’s a light and comforting vegetarian meal that’s simple, flavourful and perfect for any day of the week.
Table of Contents
- Watch How to Make It
- What is Cantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles?
- Why I Love This Recipe
- Ingredients for This Dish
- How to Make Cantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Watch How to Make It
What is Cantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles?
This Cantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles is inspired by 羅漢齋 (lor hon zai), Buddhist’s Delight, a vegetarian dish that’s often eaten during Chinese New Year and Buddhist festivals.
It’s made with leafy greens like pak choi and Chinese cabbage, umami mushrooms such as dried shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, and glass noodles. The savoury stir-fry sauce gets most of its flavour from the shiitake mushroom soaking liquid, along with soy sauce, oyster sauce and a few simple seasonings.
It’s such a great way to eat lots of veggies, and the glass noodles and wood ear mushrooms soak up all the delicious sauce. You can enjoy this dish on its own or add your favourite protein. Tofu would be a great choice if you want to keep this vegetarian!
The mushrooms take the longest to prepare (soaking takes some time), but once everything is chopped, this dish comes together in no time!
Why I Love This Recipe
● Packed with veggies. This is a great way to eat lots of greens in one meal!
● Super umami. The shiitake mushroom soaking liquid creates a rich, savoury sauce that coats every ingredient.
● Quick to cook. Once the mushrooms are soaked and everything chopped, it comes together in less than 20 mins!
Ingredients for This Dish
Here are a few key ingredients to note. You’ll find the full ingredient list and quantities in the recipe card below.
Dried shiitake mushrooms
These are the key flavour booster of the entire dish! I usually rinse them first, then soak them overnight in cold water so they’re ready to use the next day. If you’re short on time, soaking them in hot water for about 20 minutes works too.
Don’t throw away the soaking liquid – it’s liquid gold! It adds so much umami to the sauce, and without it, the dish won’t taste the way it’s supposed to. I also recommend using dried rather than fresh shiitake mushrooms because they have a much more concentrated flavour. You can find them in most Asian supermarkets.
Wood ear mushrooms
Wood ear mushrooms are really good at soaking up the sauce while adding an earthy flavour and slightly crunchy texture. I love adding them to this dish, but if you can’t find them, you can simply leave them out.
Glass noodles
I recommend sticking with glass noodles because they’re light and absorb the sauce really well. They’re made from mung bean starch and have a slightly chewy texture that pairs perfectly with the vegetables and mushrooms without making the dish feel heavy.
You can usually find them in the noodle aisle of Asian supermarkets, labelled as glass noodles, cellophane noodles, or vermicelli noodles.
How to Make Cantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles?
1) Prepare the mushrooms
Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms, then soak them in 1½ cups (360ml) of room temperature water overnight. If you’re short on time, soak them in hot water for 20 minutes until softened. Reserve the soaking liquid, then slice the mushrooms.
Soak the wood ear mushrooms in hot water until softened, then drain.
2) Prep the noodles & sauce
Soak the glass noodles in warm water for 20 minutes until softened. Drain and cut them in half with kitchen scissors to make them easier to eat.
In a small bowl or jug, whisk together all the Umami Sauce ingredients until the cornflour has dissolved.
3) Stir-fry the vegetables
Heat a little oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
Add the Chinese leaf cabbage, pak choi and fried tofu. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes until the vegetables are just starting to soften.
4) Finish the dish
Give the sauce another quick stir, then pour it into the wok along with the glass noodles. Toss everything together, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the noodles have absorbed the flavour.
Drizzle over the dark soy sauce for colour and the sesame oil for fragrance. Toss everything together and serve immediately.
More Veggie Dishes You’ll Love
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using dried shiitake mushrooms for this recipe because they have a much more concentrated umami flavour. Fresh shiitake mushrooms will work, but the sauce won’t have the same depth of flavour. The mushroom soaking liquid is what makes this dish so delicious!
Yes! This dish is naturally vegetarian if you use vegetarian oyster sauce.
Of course! This dish is super flexible, you can use any leafy greens you have, such as choy sum, spinach or cabbage. You can also add carrots, mushrooms or bamboo shoots.
Cantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles (冬菇雜菜粉絲)
2
servings20
minutes10
minutesCantonese Mixed Vegetables with Mushrooms & Glass Noodles is a light vegetarian dish packed with greens and umami mushrooms.
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Ingredients
50 g glass noodles (~1 serving)
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
10 g dried wood ear mushrooms
110 g fried tofu
90 g Chinese leaf cabbage
90 g pak choi
2 slices ginger, julienned
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
- Umami sauce:
1.5 cup reserved mushroom water (from soaking dried shiitake mushrooms)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 ⁄2 tsp sugar
1 ⁄4 tsp white pepper powder
1 ⁄4 tsp salt
Directions
- Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms, then soak them in 1.5 cups (360ml) of room temperature water overnight. If you’re short on time, soak them in hot water for 20 minutes until softened. Reserve the soaking liquid, then slice the mushrooms.
- Soak the wood ear mushrooms and glass noodles in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain. Cut the noodles in half with kitchen scissors to make them easier to stir-fry.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the umami sauce ingredients.
- Heat a little oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
- Add the Chinese leaf cabbage, pak choi and fried tofu. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes until the vegetables are just starting to soften.
- Add the glass noodles and pour in the umami sauce. Toss everything together, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, or until the veggies have softened and sauce has thickened.
- Drizzle over the dark soy sauce for colour and the sesame oil for fragrance. Toss everything together. Enjoy!
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