Maitake Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe (Vegan!)

What’s better than a noodle? I’m definitely a carb fan myself, and there are some days where nothing but pasta will do. This pasta is enrobed in a thick and creamy, savory, mushroom sauce. It’s our take on a Russian classic, beef stroganoff. Instead we’re giving you a vegan maitake mushroom stroganoff recipe. It makes the best of this fall mushroom by infusing flavor into the sauce, as well as serving bits of the mushroom in the dish. It’s creamy, indulgent, delicious, and hearty – what more could you want?

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All About Mushroom Stroganoff

Mushrooms stroganoff is the vegetarian or vegan version of the classic Russian dish, beef stroganoff. Traditionally beef stroganoff is a sauce made from beef, and thickened with a traditional French roux. Sour cream is added for a bit of Tang and creaminess. It is most commonly served over buttered egg noodles, although variations of it being served over potato strings and over rice both exist. It was named for the wealthy stroganoff family, first created for them by their French chef, and from there took a journey to China, and on to the United states, and into our freezers and processed convenience foods. When the Romanov dynasty came to an end, many of those sympathetic with their plight fled to China. Beef stroganoff came to China with them, where bigger and bolder flavors were adopted by the Chinese and integrated into the dish. The creamy sauce became very popular, and in China is where it first started being served over rice. When world war II came around, the dish was still very popular in China and visiting servicemen got to experience it for the first time. It was so enjoyed that they brought it back to their families after the war. During that same time Americans started to really enjoy their convenience foods, and frozen dinners or quick stroganoffs made with canned soups rose in their popularity. What had initially been a fairly fancy French dish was now a quick weeknight throw-a- can- of- Campbell’s -on -some- noodles sort of affair. Not that there’s anything wrong with a quick and easy meal, but we like to think the maitake mushroom stroganoff recipe we made here is almost as simple, and many times more delicious.

Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site, I can’t be responsible for the accuracy of your information. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.

Hen of the Woods Identification

The star of this dish is the maitake mushroom- also called hen of the woods, sheep’s head, ram’s head and dancing mushroom (or if you prefer the scientific name, Grifola frondosa). It adds all that savory flavor into the sauce- yum! Maitake mushrooms are a real fall mushroom, and can usually be found in October around where I am in New England. They are a polypore mushroom, which is a way of describing a large, fruiting fungi that hold their spores through a series of many small pores or tubes, instead of gills (like an oyster). They grow in large, branching clusters or heads, and have a small rainbow of colors from light gray to brown to nearly black. The pores should always be white. Many mushrooms have a type of tree that they have a special bond with, and for the maitake it’s the oak tree. They can grow on other hardwoods, such as maple or elm, but large and mature oaks are by far their favorite. Maitake mushrooms also vary in size, from a few ounces to over 50 pounds- just remember that a small maitake won’t necessarily become a 50 pounder, and even if it does, it may be so filled with dirt and insects by the time it gets there that you wouldn’t want it. I find that picking them around 3-7 lbs. seems to be perfect.

Quick aside- I’ve also noticed a lot of talk in mushrooming groups that seems to mimic the fisherman and his “50 pound fish”, where people will greatly exaggerate the size of their maitake finds.  They take pictures of their perfectly normal maitakes and claim them to be 35lb., and for the most part, those mushrooms look no bigger than the 5 lb. one I have on my counter. It seems to be primarily men who do this. Now fellas, I understand that after lugging a 5 lb. mushroom through the forest, it might start to feel like a whole lot more, but let’s keep our heads on straight. That type of exaggeration isn’t fooling anyone.

If you want to find your first maitake, head somewhere with a lot of oak trees. Look for a large, mature one, and walk to the base. Walk in a circle around it, as there have been many times where a tree that looked hen-free was just hiding a large maitake on the other side of it’s trunk. Look closely, as fallen oak leaves are very good camouflage for the maitake. When you do spot a lovely hen, check to make sure that tree isn’t hosting another couple, as they often cluster around the same trunk. And come back next year- the same trees host maitake year after year, until they inevitably die.

Hen of the Woods Look-Alikes

Here’s the good news- there are no poisonous hen of the woods look-alikes! At least not in North America- I can’t say if that remains true other places. Make sure you always find a local mushrooming guide, as the variety of mushrooms will make look-alikes different in different areas.  There are a few non-poisonous look-alikes to keep an eye out for. The Black-Staining Polypore is the most convincing in my opinion- brownish, large clusters at hardwood bases. But they have different branching to the hen of the woods, which makes them look just a little bit off. Oh, and they bruise black, so that can help you figure it out. While the black staining polypore can be fairly tough, it is also edible so no fear if you bring it home. Another common misidentification is Berkeley’s Polypore, which also likes to find a good oak to inhabit. It’s large, lighter, and has thick flesh. It tends to have more of a shelf-like cluster than the hen’s branching cluster, but again, is not poisonous (although it may be hard to chew). Honestly, it looks more like an old chicken of the woods specimen to me than a hen. A third mushroom sometimes sited as a  “look-alike” is the Cauliflower Mushroom. And if you’ve made this mistake, congratulations, you’ve got a choice edible on your hands! Cauliflower mushrooms have much thinner flesh than a maitake, and are white to yellowish cream colored.

Looking for Maitake Recipes? Try one of these!

• Bloomin’ Maitake (Vegan Hen of the Woods Recipe)
• Maitake and Wild Rice Thanksgiving Salad
• Seared Maitake Mushroom Steaks with Persimmon Salsa
• Black Walnut and Maitake Mushroom Pâté
• Collard Greens and Maitake Steamed Buns (Hen of the Woods)

How to Make This Maitake Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe

To make this vegan maitake mushroom stroganoff recipe, you have to make the sauce and also the noodles to go with it. Although if you’re feeling like taking a variation you could always try serving it over potato strings or rice! I recommend making the pasta just as directed on the box, because depending on what shape you use the cooking times will be different. To make the sauce, start by cooking your mushrooms. Use a generous amount of vegan butter in the pan, and then add your mushrooms. You’re maitake mushrooms will let off a lot of moisture in the beginning, which will evaporate, and then your mushrooms will begin to crisp. For the best flavor you do want a fairly crispy mushroom. And never you fear, because while the moisture in the mushroom has evaporated a lot of that flavor is still left in the pan and we will be recovering it later. Take the mushrooms out of the skillet and set them aside. Then start with your garlic and onions, and start building up that flavor. You’ll use a little bit of white wine to deglaze the pan, and this is where you should recover some of that maitake mushroom flavor. We’ll also be adding some flour which will help to thicken our sauce. Vegetable broth makes up the bulk of the sauce, although you can definitely use water if you do not have vegetable broth. Once your sauce has been simmering away and your noodles are cooked, take a small amount of that sauce and put it in a blender along with your silken tofu. Blend the tofu and the sauce together to create a creamy texture, and then return to your skillet. Turn off the heat and combine the tofu with the rest of the sauce. Stir it together for that luscious stroganoff texture. Finally add the pasta and the mushrooms, and give it all a toss until it is all completely coated in that sauce. I served mine with fresh parsley and nutritional yeast- both of these are of course optional, but the parsley add some nice freshness and the nutritional yeast adds a bit of a cheesy feel. And Priyatnogo appetita!

Maitake Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe (Vegan!)

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