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This Ethiopian mushroom tibs stir-fry has so much amazing flavor!! Mushrooms onions sautéed with Berbere spice, coriander, cardamom, rosemary and red wine or balsamic! Flavor central! Gluten-free, Nutfree, Soyfree and low carb! Serve with injera bread, flatbread and a side salad.
Here’s an easy Vegan Ethiopian-style Mushroom Stir-fry that is delicious and quick to make but tastes wonderfully complex. Pleasantly spicy, savory, and delicious.
Ethiopian the cuisine after Indian that is a favorite in my home. The spices and slow roasted flavors are addictive. I have a few Ethiopian inspired options on the blog. I wanted to make some tibs, a traditional Ethiopian dish that typically refers to cubes of meat such as beef, poultry, or lamb. The protein and prep varies from recipe to recipe so does the amount of spiciness and there are versions with and without added bell pepper.
The meatiness of button mushrooms makes them a great substitution here. They withstand sauces while maintaining some texture. Any mushrooms like portabella, white, cremini or other thick mushrooms will work.
Berbere spice blend is a deeply earthy-meaty-umami- spicy blend. The key ingredients are usually red chili peppers, fenugreek, and ginger. The heat from the chili comes after you have eaten a couple of bites and I would call this mushroom dish very moderately spicy. Depending on the brand the spicy ness varies. if you’d like less heat, start with less and add more if needed.
Ingudai tibs can be served with injera bread for a delicious vegan Ethiopian meal. To up the protein even more, serve them with split pea stew Kik alicha , Ethiopian lentil stew (missir wot). Another great side would be potato cabbage atakilt wat and the various lentils and some injera or flatbread.
More Ethiopian recipes:
Ethiopian Mushrooms Tibs Stir-fry Ingudai tibs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 4 cups chopped mushrooms, such as cremini, white, oyster, portabella
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
For the sauce:
- 2 teaspoons berbere, spice blend , see notes to make your own
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- a good pinch each of cinnamon,, clove and nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons red wine or use 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add oil to a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in the onion and cook until translucent.
- Then add the mushrooms and rosemary, a good pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms start to turn golden on some edges.
- Keep stirring occasionally and if the pan seems to be drying out too much, add some splashes of water.
- Then mix in the berbere , paprika, garlic, coriander, cardamom, salt and the rest of the spices to the wine, and water. Add to the skillet
- Mix well and cover and cook until the mushrooms are cooked to preference.
- Taste and adjust flavor. If you like them saucier add in more water and simmer for a few mins. Serve with some flatbread or toast or Ethiopian injera with a side of Ethiopian lentils
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- sliced red onion are sauteed to get that umami going
- chopped mushrooms – I like using cremini here but portobello or white or oyster also work
- spices: dried rosemary, berbere, paprika, garlic, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, onion powder
- for cooking the mushrooms we add a splash of red wine or balsamic vinegar
Tips:
- If you decide to make your own, there are several variations of the berbere spice. I like the blend at World spice as it isn’t that hot. Their blend contains Ajwain(carom seeds), Cloves, Fenugreek, Ginger powder, Tellicherry Black Pepper, cinnamon, Cardamom, Coriander, and Piquin chilies.
- Make your own Berbere spice using the recipe here
- we add the dried rosemary before the rest of the spices to allow for it to release its flavor properly
How to Make Mushroom Tibs
For the sauce, combine red wine or use 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and add in 1/4 cup water.
Combine the spices, paprika, garlic, coriander, cardamom, a good pinch each of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, and onion powder and set aside
Add oil to a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in the onion and cook until translucent.
Then add the mushrooms and rosemary, a good pinch of salt, and cook until the mushrooms start to turn golden on some edges.
Keep stirring occasionally and if the pan seems to be drying out too much, add some splashes of water.
Then add in the spice and wine mix and remaining salt
Mix well and cover and cook until the mushrooms are cooked to preference.
Taste and adjust flavor and then serve with some flatbread or toast or injera.
Really gorgeous. Ethiopean food is my favourite cuisine and this was a really nice way to get a ‘fix’ without driving across town.
I used my home made Nitre Quibbe in place of oil. I’m lucky to have access to Berebere from Ethiopia so of course I used that blend. Used your suggestion of adding chickpeas and served on toast. Absolute delight, heat level was just right.
Yay!!! So happy yo hear.
I used it to actually make an Ethiopian inspired soup/ stew. Funny because there actually were no mushrooms in it, cabbage, butternut squash, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, 3 different kinds of sweet potatoes, onions and doubled the seasoning. I also made it not vegan I added ground lamb and chicken breast. Absolutely delicious the spices were perfect. Thank you
So glad you liked it!