We have posted a few pictures on our Instagram of us experimenting (and mostly eating) steamed buns. When we are trying not to eat as much meat or have extra mushrooms on hand, we love using them as the base for the buns. What we love about mushrooms is that they soak up all of the liquid and seasoning that you cook them. Half of our quarantine gang claims to not like mushrooms but had no problem eating these bad boys. To make life a little more simple, we used pre-made, frozen buns. We found these at H-Mart during our weekly grocery shopping trip. When yeast becomes more readily available we plan to experiment with making them from scratch!  

Semi-Homemade Mushroom Buns 
Makes: 4 servings 
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes 

Ingredients: 

• 3 tbs sesame oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 inches fresh ginger, minced 
• 1 lb mixed mushrooms (we used crimini and oyster), chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 1/4 cup hoisin 
• 1 tsp Chinese chili power (or substitute red chili flakes)
• 12 frozen steamed buns 
• cucumber slices, for garnish
• scallion slices, for garnish 
• Sriracha, for garnish 

Instructions:

1. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Saute for 5 minutes until the ginger and garlic become fragrant but not burnt. 
2. Reduce the heat to low and add the mushrooms. Add the soy sauce, hoisin and chili powder and saute for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. You want the mushrooms to be cooked down and covered by the sauce. 
3. While the mushrooms are sautéing, steam the buns according to the package directions.
4. Assemble the buns. Cut the buns in half and add a generous portion of the mushroom mix to the bottom. Top with Sriracha and cucumber slices and serve warm.