Miso Mushroom Gravy

 

MISO MUSHROOM GRAVY is good on brown rice. Miso was thought to protect against radiation sickness in Japan after the atomic bombings. Some people have found it helps them after radiation treatments. It is also a delicious salty condiment with the added benefit of friendly bacteria, and it should be added at the end of cooking when the gravy is warm, not hot, to keep the friendlies alive.

Ingredients

1/2 pound — mushrooms, sliced

1 — onion, chopped, optional

Olive oil to fry in

1/2 cup — whole wheat flour

1 tsp — garlic powder

1 tsp nutritional yeast

Sprinkle — dried basil

2 1/2 cups — hot water

1/4 cup — miso 

1/2 — squeezed lemon

 

Method

Heat a kettle of water.

Slice half a pound of your favorite mushroom. I used white. In a frying pan, saute the mushroom slices in two tablespoons of olive oil until they are limp and slightly reduced in size.

Mix half a cup of whole wheat flour with a teaspoon garlic powder, a teaspoon of nutritional yeast, and a sprinkle of basil. Stir in with the mushrooms. It will be crumbly. Keep it moving as you brown the flour for a minute or two.

Very gradually add hot water to the pan. Altogether it will be two-and-a-half cups of water. The slower you go and the hotter the water, the less likely the gravy will be lumpy. Let it cook down to a gravy consistency. This may take fifteen minutes or so to thicken. You can use a spatula to stir it every now and then to keep it from sticking. The mushrooms might get stuck in a whisk.

Remove a little gravy to mix with a quarter cup of red miso, or whatever miso you prefer. I also added half a squeezed lemon. Add this paste back to the gravy when it has cooled slightly, so as not to kill off the friendly bacteria in the miso or dim the brightness of the lemon.

How to Serve

This would also be good made with onions along with the mushrooms. I served it with the brown rice I made in my rice cooker, some steamed kale, some more of the outer crunch tofu — though it was more chewy this time than crunchy: I baked it at 425F degrees, and I had marinated it in water to cover, two tablespoons tamari, and half a teaspoon of garlic powder — and a salad made with red lettuce, scallions, avocado, grapefruit, shredded carrots, and dried cranberries.

The boys all vied to have their plate of food be the most photo-worthy. I wonder whose I will pick?