Pamelia Chia’s Mushroom Adobo Spaghetti

As a lot of Asian cultures include a rich vegan or vegetarian tradition, or often only use meat and fish as accents in many meals, a lot of Asian food lends itself particularly well for ‘veganizing’. So I was absolutely delighted about the release of Pamelia Chia‘s PlantasiaAdobo-Paddenstoelenspaghetti and placed my pre-order as soon as it became available. And what an incredible gem it is, Plantasia is probably in my top 5 favorite cookbooks of all time right now. It is such an instant classic. This mushroom adobo spaghetti is probably the most easy to replicate the world over, so that’s why I wanted to feature it here. It does help that it also turned out to be delicious.

Pamelia Chia’s Plantasia

Plantasia features both existing vegetarian and vegan Asian recipes, as well existing dishes that Pamelia has plantified and recipes that she has concocted of her own accord. Furthermore it features a series of wonderfully illustrated profiles and recipes on Asians from various backgrounds and their why’s and how’s of implementing a vegan or vegetarian practice within their traditional foodways. It includes some of my all-time faves like Jenny Lau and Cathy Erway, some people that are newer to (but no less loved by) me like Andrea Nguyen, who’s Ever-Green Vietnamese recipe for trứng chiên rau thơm (Vietnamese herby pancakes) As well as a lot of names that are new to me and that I am excited to follow into the future.

Having worked in various Asian kitchens across the world, Pamelia clearly has a deep-seated knowledge of and respect for the various cuisines featured in Plantasia. This makes reading her take on Asian vegetarian and vegan cooking a breath of fresh air for how informed it is.

Plantasia hails a disturbing amount of recipes I want to cook. From the mushroom adobo spaghetti below, to the lemongrass tofu with chilies, to typhoon shelter mushrooms, beer battered eggplant soba, butternut dengaku, tempeh chili pan mee with thai basil and more. The list is virtually endless.

What makes this book extra special is that it is entirely self published. And the quality of the book both in terms of contents and design is absolutely mind blowing. Even if you’re not going to cook from this, the profiles alone are worth it. You can find Plantasia here, on Pamelia’s website. There is also a list of stockists (based in Singapore, the US, Australia, the Netherlands and Hong Kong) on her websites home[page if you’d like to try and find it in person.

Mushroom and adobo spaghetti

I picked this recipe for mushroom and adobo spaghetti mainly because I love mushrooms and it contains ingredients that you should be able to find in most supermarkets. I was a bit skeptical about adding the tomatoes raw towards the end, but they warm through quickly and give the dish a nice meaty umami quality that I wasn’t expecting.

If you cannot find oyster mushrooms, as is the trouble here in France, I’m sure sliced chestnut mushrooms will work as well. I made mine with linguine because that’s my long boy pasta of preference. For smaller households, I did not try and halve the mushroom adobo and spaghetti, though I’m sure you can.

Pamelia Chia's Mushroom Adobo Spaghetti

Dorothy Porker

A quick and easy delicious vegan recipe for mushroom adobo spaghetti from Pamelia Chia's instant classic Plantasia.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main course

Cuisine Filipino

Servings 4

Equipment

• Large pot for cooking the pasta
• large saucepan or wok

Ingredients

  

• 250 g - 9 oz dried spaghetti I used linguine, I'm sure other noodles work as well
• 3 T oil I'd go for a neutral oil rather than olive oil here
• 6 cloves garlic chopped, grated or pressed
• 1/2 T ginger chopped or grated
• 1 small red onion chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 350 g - 12 1/4 oz oyster mushrooms cut or torn into bite-sized pieces - Pamelia calls for pine mushrooms, I think chestnut mushrooms will also work in a pinch
• 1/3 C water
• 1/4 C apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar if you have access to this
• 3 T soy sauce
• 3 T kecap manis this is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce
• 2 small tomatoes chopped
• 2 spring onions thinly sliced
• black pepper freshly ground, to taste

Instructions

 

• Cook your pasta according to packet instructions.
• Combine 3 T of oil with 6 cloves of chopped garlic in a large saucepan or wok.
• Fry on high heat, stirring constantly, until the garlic begins to brown. Now add 1/2 T chopped ginger, 1 small chopped red onion, 2 dried bay leaves. Stir until the onions become translucent, before adding 350 g of torn or cut oyster mushrooms.
• Fry the mushrooms for a couple of minutes until they no longer look raw (they'll start to look more wilted and wet).
• Now add 1/3 C of water, 1/4 C of apple cider vinegar, 3 T of soy sauce and 3 T of kecap manis.
• Turn down the heat and let everything simmer for a few minutes, allowing the mushrooms to absorb the flavorings.
• Taste the liquid and adjust the seasoning with more vinegar, soy sauce or kecap, depending on your personal preference.
• When the pasta is cooked, transfer it straight into the pan with a pair of tongs. Toss well and cook on high heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed, this should take about a minute.
• Turn off the heat and stir in 2 small chopped tomatoes, 2 thinly sliced spring onions and freshly ground black pepper according to taste.
• Taste again and adjust the seasoning of necessary and now your mushroom adobo spaghetti is ready to serve.

Keyword asian pasta, budget vegan, filipino vegan, mushrooms, vegan asian