These delicious umami-rich fried oyster mushrooms are full of Chinese char siu flavour but without the meat. Serve with quick pickled salad and sushi rice for a tasty gluten-free and vegan amuse bouche or starter! Or bulk up with some marinated tofu for a flavourful main course.
2tablespoongrapeseed oil, or any other flavourless oil
1tablespoonsesame seeds, (for garnish)
Instructions
First, make the salad by mixing together the rice vinegar, salt and maple syrup in a bowl and adding the shredded vegetables. Mix really well and leave in a covered container in the fridge to soak up the pickle flavour.
2 tablespoon rice vinegar, ½ teaspoon brown rice syrup, ¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt, 1 carrot, ¼ cabbage, 1 small red onion
Next, whisk the char siu marinade ingredients together in a jug and pour over the mushrooms. Gently mix the marinade into the mushrooms and place in the fridge to marinate for an hour or longer (up to 4 hours).
50 g hoisin sauce, 25 g tamari, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup, ½ teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 300 g oyster mushrooms
If you are serving with sushi rice, you should start to cook it about 10-15 minutes before you start to cook the mushrooms as it takes about 20 minutes to cook (follow the cooking instructions on the packet or see this vegan sushi bowl recipe for instructions).
160 g sushi rice, 2 teaspoon sushi rice seasoning
While the rice is cooking, heat up the oil in a non-stick frying pan to a medium-high heat. Take the mushrooms out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and place them in the hot pan. (It is important to place them spaced apart so that they fry rather than steam, so you might need to do this in two batches). Fry the mushrooms for about 2 minutes on each side until they are well caramelised (deep brown and crispy).
2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
Remove each mushroom from the pan as it gets crispy and place on a plate lined with kitchen towel while you finish cooking the rest.
Serve with a spoonful of the pickled vegetables and some cooked sushi rice. Garnish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Notes
The best mushrooms to use are the regular pearl oyster mushrooms but you could use sliced king oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms instead.
Alternatively for a higher protein option, you can use pressed firm tofu instead or as well!
See the full blogpost for notes on how to prepare the vegetables and mushrooms. This recipe makes a lot of salad and you might not need all of it. It will keep for a few days in the fridge and you can use it with other salads or thrown into stir-fries.
You could air fry the mushrooms instead (6 minutes at 180°C / 350°F, turning half way through) but it doesn’t taste nearly as good as frying them.