Vegan pulled mushroom tacos
Vegan pulled mushroom tacos
How about a plate of deliciously smoky and juicy pulled mushroom tacos this weekend? Pulled what!? Mushrooms! No, I am not pulling your leg (sorry, could not help myself 😉 ), promise. They are a thing and they are blooming delicious! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have guessed that I’m a big fan of young jackfruit, which I have used in many recipes to replicate the texture of meat with great success and I cannot believe I’m about to say this, but… Move over jackfruit, there is a new kid on the block!
I first learned about this trick of shredding King Oyster mushroom stems into a meat-like texture from Derek Sarno’s video and I thought it was genius. I knew that they make convincing vegan scallops, but this was way cooler and I had to give it a go. When I spotted the meaty mushrooms in an Asian store in town I was over the moon – I know, I need to get out more…
I tried a couple of different ways of preparing them, but treating them the same way I prepare the jackfruit turned out to be a clear winner – stew in the spices and condiments first and then bake in a hot oven till the edges get a little charred and crispy.
I tucked my smoky pulled mushroom filling in some small corn tortillas and dressed them with a simple tomato salsa, some cos lettuce, a few strands of sharp quick-pickled onions, a dollop of vegan sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh coriander and I was a very happy bunny indeed.
These meatless ‘meaty’ tacos make for ideal finger food and go hand in hand with some beers in the sun (I’m counting on you this weekend, Bristol!) and some fairly relaxed hosting as you can prepare everything well in advance. I don’t know about you, but since this is a long weekend and the weather is meant to be gorgeous, that’s very much in my weekend plans.
- 400 g / 14 oz king oyster mushrooms
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1-2 tsp adobo paste (or chilli paste)
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (for GF version)
- 60 ml / ¼ cup stock (or water)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- a good pinch white or black pepper
SALSA
- 15 ripe plum tomatoes
- ¼ red onion, finely diced
- ½ small jalapeno chilli (adjust to taste), finely diced
- small handful of coriander, super finely chopped
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp maple syrup
- salt and pepper, to taste
REMAINING INGREDIENTS
- 15 small tacos (I used shop-bought 10 cm corn tacos)
- Romaine lettuce, shredded
- quick-pickled red onions (details in this recipe)
- small bunch of coriander
- vegan sour cream or creme fraiche (I used Oatly)
- Wipe the mushrooms clean and cut off the caps. Slice the caps thinly.
- Shred the stems using a fork to make incisions and then pull individual strands apart with your hands (see photos).
- Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy bottom frying pan.
- Throw in the diced onion, fry on a gentle heat for about 10 minutes (stirring from time to time) until translucent and lightly browned in places.
- Add the diced garlic and fry for another 2-4 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the cumin, smoked paprika and coriander. Fry them off gently, stirring the whole time, for a minute or so.
- Mix in the tomato and adobo (or chilli) paste.
- Add in all the mushrooms (caps and all). Coat them in what’s already on the pan.
- Add soy sauce (I ended up using 3 tbsp, but you are welcome start off with 2) and 60 ml / ¼ cup stock.
- Allow the mushrooms to cook in the liquid until most of the liquid gets absorbed. Season with maple syrup and some pepper. You are welcome to add some more acidity, but for me, the tomato and adobo paste provided enough. Cook for another 5 minutes and allow the mixture to cool down. If making a day ahead, refrigerate overnight.
- Just before you are ready to assemble the tacos, set the oven to 180° C / 355° F fan function (or 200° C / 390° F if your oven has no fan setting).
- Spread the mushrooms pieces on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes, depending on how browned you would like your end product.
SALSA
- Chop your tomatoes very finely, optionally deseeding them as you go along.
- Mix in the diced onion, jalapeno chilli and coriander.
- Dress with lime juice, olive oil and maple syrup and season with salt and pepper.
ASSEMBLY
- Assemble your tacos by putting pulled mushroom, chopped lettuce, tomato salsa, pickled onions (if using) and coriander in the middle of each taco. Dot with vegan sour cream.
I'll be making this frequently! Thanks so much for this recipe! Have already passed it along to a few veg friends to try too!
It's tasty and quite simple to make. Preparing the mushrooms a day ahead also makes it very convenient when you have friends over. And everyone who tried it just love it (even meat-eater guests).
This is now my go to recipe for pulled mushrooms: I also use them in burgers for example.
I definitely recommend.
Tr
I've made the mushroom version, but can't stomach too much mushroom due to an intolerance - though it doesn't stop me sometimes !
Just wanted to let you know I experimented with eggplant as substitute, and after a bit of tweaking it works!
I salt, wash and blot thin slices (so it is a bit more time consuming) and then cut them into equally thin strips. Fried everything up the same, then baked for about 20min, turned the mixture and then another 20m to crisp it up, it was perfect.
These are literally a staple for me now, I make them at least once a fortnight, sometimes more. :P
Thank you for this recipe !!
PS: will give it a go in when eggplants are in season!
It's hard for me to reassure you that it will absolutely work the same as I have not tested this recipe with portobellos, however, there is not that much that can go wrong. They may be brittle raw so I would cut rather than shred but roasting them first sounds like it would work well. Good luck! Ania
Are there any alternatives to the adobo paste which I can use? Looking forward to making them!
Thank you.
You could use a mixture of tomato paste, chilli paste, some minced garlic and a dash of smoked paprika perhaps? Hope this helps! Ania
You don't have to, but I recommend doing it. Baking makes the mushroom 'meat' nicely caramelised and crispy around the edges. Ania
I'll be honest, I have not tried using regular oyster mushrooms but my instinct is to go straight for the oven. The reason being is that they are way more delicate than the stems of king oysters, which do require cooking to soften. I would keep them in the marinade for an hour or so (tossing from time to time) and then bake, first covered with foil for 10-15 minutes and then uncovered so that all the excess moisture bakes out and they crisp up at the end. Hope that answers your question and you are welcome to override me if would rather cook them first. x Ania
When you follow that link you get the method explained in step 1, please take another look. x Ania
As far as I know fan function and fan setting is exactly the same thing. They basically make the oven approx. 70°F warmer. If your recipe specifies fan and your oven doesn't have that function, simply increase the baking temperature. If you are not sure, consult your oven manual (I am sure you can find it online). Hope that helps! Ania
This recipe is the proof that tacos can be as good as the classic ones with meat IF NOT BETTER
Just got into the plant based lifestyle and will definitely make more of your recipes.
Best regards
I am excited that you are planning to cook this for a lot of people and I hope that it will go down well. As for your question, it's tricky as the only sub for king oyster I can think of is regular oyster mushrooms, but sounds like these aren't at your disposal either. In this case, I would go with chestnut or bigger ones like that (they are called different names depending on size), but instead of shredding them, I would just chop them into rather thick matchsticks. They won't be quite the same, but hopefully just as good. Hope that helps! Ania
Of course, they would make a delicious side! Ania
You have a winner here, with lots of opportunity to make this a bardeque dish as well. Thanks for posting in Pinterest!
AJ and Jann Gest
Denver Colorado.
Thanks again.
They should work fine, but they do not need as much cooking as they are much softer (have higher water content) so don't brother sauteeing them first, simply just marinade them and than bake at 180° C / 355° F until edges get crispy. Hope that helps! Ania
I have a question, sort of a recipe request. Would you consider developing a seitan recipe for Polish-style ham (szynka)? I have looked around and found a few recipes but they are not very convincing. I thought I'd leav this here! Hope you're having a great long weekend so far :)
I haven't seen oyster mushrooms here in Jura, but I'll keep my eyes peeled. Gorgeous photos, as always.