Easy Purslane Recipe with Mushrooms

Name: Purslane with Mushrooms
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 500 g winter purslane (sliced into smaller pieces); 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion (chopped ); 3 garlic cloves (minced ); 5 cm ginger (grated ); 1 yellow pepper (diced); 250 g mushrooms; 2 tbsp soy sauce ( or coconut aminos); 1 tbsp crispy chilli oil; 15 g flat parsley (chopped ); 2 spring onions (sliced ); 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Purslane is one of those vegetables that really deserves a lot more attention. If you’ve never cooked with it before, you’re in for a surprise. It has a lovely fresh, slightly tangy flavor and wilts beautifully, making it perfect for quick stir-fries like this purslane recipe with mushrooms.

My first introduction to purslane wasn’t exactly a success. When I was a teenager I often stayed for lunch at a friend’s family farm. They regularly served purslane mashed potatoes and, to be honest, I really didn’t like it. It always tasted a little too sour for me, and for years I convinced myself that purslane simply wasn’t my thing.

Luckily I decided to give it another chance. And I’m so glad I did, because prepared like this – with mushrooms, ginger, garlic and a little crispy chilli oil – it has become one of my favorite vegetable side dishes.

Tip from Simone
Recipe Ingredients
What is Purslane?
How to Make Sautéed Purslane with Mushrooms
Serving suggestions
Variations
FAQ Purslane with Mushrooms

Tip from Simone

If you’re trying to eat more vegetables, purslane is a great one to add to your menu. Just like spinach it cooks down quickly, making it an easy way to add a generous portion of greens to your meal. If you come across it at the farmers market or greengrocer, definitely give it a try!

One important note on the purslane itself once cooked. I found that if you leave the strands intact it becomes hard to eat. So I chop the purslane prior to cooking into smaller bits which makes eating it much better!

Recipe Ingredients

You’ll only need a handful of ingredients for this simple purslane recipe:

Winter purslane – you’ll need about 500 grams for two people. Like spinach, it shrinks considerably during cooking.
Mushrooms – I used small Asian mushrooms (enoki), but chestnut mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms or portobello all work well.
Yellow bell pepper – adds sweetness and a little crunch.
Onion, garlic and fresh ginger – together they create a wonderfully fragrant base.
Soy sauce – adds a rich umami flavour. Coconut aminos are a great gluten-free alternative.
Crispy chilli oil – for a gentle kick of heat. Or make your own with this recipe for crispy chili oil

To finish

Sesame seeds
Fresh parsley
Spring onions

What is Purslane?

Purslane isn’t a vegetable you see in every supermarket, although it’s becoming easier to find. Farmers markets, greengrocers and specialty stores often carry it, and it’s also surprisingly easy to grow yourself.

There are two main varieties:

Summer purslane grows from June to September and has thick, succulent-like leaves.
Winter purslane is available from autumn through early spring and has smaller, more delicate leaves.

This recipe uses winter purslane, which has a mild flavor and cooks beautifully in a stir-fry. One of the reasons grocery stores don’t like to have it in stock is that the leaves are quite fragile and damage quickly. So if you buy it, it’s best to use it quickly.

How to Make Sautéed Purslane with Mushrooms

Step 1: Prepare the purslane

Trim the bottom of the bunch and wash the purslane thoroughly. A salad spinner works well to remove any excess water.

I like to roughly chop the purslane before cooking. Otherwise the stems can stay quite long and tend to clump together once cooked. (I didn’t chop them for these photos and that is not so pleasant for eating)

Step 2: Cook the vegetables

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok.

Cook the onion until softened, then add the garlic, grated ginger and diced pepper. Fry for another minute before adding the mushrooms.

Cook the mushrooms until they are nicely browned.

Step 3: Add the purslane

Add the purslane to the pan. It will look like a lot at first, but just like spinach it quickly wilts down to a much smaller volume.

Allow any excess moisture to evaporate before stirring in the soy sauce and crispy chilli oil.

Cook for another minute and serve immediately.

Serving suggestions

This purslane recipe makes a delicious vegetable side dish alongside almost any main course.

It’s especially tasty served with:

Boiled potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Potato gratin
Sweet potatoes
Rice or noodles
Grilled chicken or salmon

Finish everything with plenty of fresh parsley, spring onions and sesame seeds for extra flavor and crunch.

Variations

This recipe is very easy to adapt.

Add roasted cashews or peanuts for extra crunch.
Stir in cubes of tofu to make it a simple vegetarian main course.
Add a splash of sesame oil just before serving.
Prefer a milder version? Simply leave out the crispy chilli oil.

Storage

Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing this dish, as purslane becomes very soft after thawing.

FAQ Purslane with Mushrooms

Not quite. Purslane has a fresh, slightly tangy flavor with a little more bite than spinach. Once stir-fried it becomes wonderfully tender.

Yes. Summer purslane works just as well in this recipe. Because the leaves are slightly thicker, they may need an extra minute of cooking. I haven’t tried it myself in this particular recipe though.

I recommend it. The stems can become quite long and tend to tangle together after cooking, so chopping it into smaller pieces makes it much easier to eat.

Yes! As written, the recipe is naturally vegan as long as you use soy sauce or coconut aminos.