El Nino has officially hit Los Angeles and I am loving it. Well, I’m not loving the destruction that could possibly come but we really need the rain. The rain has inspired all sorts of cozy food ideas but those will come later. First, something healthy.

I’m currently on one of those annoying cleanses where I can’t eat a myriad of foods. Some make sense (no gluten, sugar, dairy) but others sort of make me scratch my head. No honey?! Why?! One of the ingredients on the list of no-no’s is soy sauce. I wanted to make a medley stir-fry full of mushrooms but what would I do with no soy sauce. I replaced it with sweet miso paste and added a bit of rice wine vinegar. Luckily for us, the mushrooms give off a lot of moisture that is full of flavor so I didn’t really miss the soy sauce. This over a bed of brown rice is everything I’m wanting at this time of year.

Miso Mushroom Stir-Fry

Make a mushroom stir-fry featuring miso, bok choy, and brown rice. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of the Fresh Tastes blog)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 
• 1 tablespoons sweet miso paste
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 pound mushrooms (I used a mix of *king mushrooms and beech) 
• 1 bunch of bok choy, cleaned with ends trimmed 
• Cooked brown rice, for serving 
• Sesame seeds, as garnish 
• Green onion, sliced, as garnish

Directions

1. In a large saute pan, set over medium heat, add the sesame oil. When warm, add the mushrooms and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cover and allow to cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Next, sweet miso paste, rice wine vinegar, ginger and bok choy; toss until thoroughly coated. Cover for about 3 minutes, until the bok choy is bright green and slightly softened. 
2. Spoon stir-fry over a bed of rice and top with sesame seeds and green onions.

Tips/Techniques

King mushrooms are fairly large so I sliced them in half, long ways, and then scored the stems. This made for a more even cooking time. 

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.