Sweet and Sour Mushrooms- “un-chicken” Recipe

Do you like Chinese style sweet and sour chicken? Well this recipe is sure to please and replaces the chicken with a plant based substitute, golden oyster mushrooms!

These mushrooms are dredged in a flour/egg batter and then deep fried to perfection for that extra crispy crunch. The wet batter creates a nice doughy crust that makes it more fluffy while the chewiness of the oyster mushrooms gives you that mock chicken texture!

Flour batter:
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cup flour
1 egg (beaten)
1 tbs neutral oil
1 1/4 cup water

Sweet and Sour Sauce

• 1 tbs sesame oil

• 2 cloves garlic minced

• 1 tsp ginger minced

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1/2 tbs lemon juice (or lime juice)

• 2 tbsp honey

• 2 tbsp ketchup

• 1/2 tbs siracha

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbs minced red bell pepper (no seeds, diced for color)

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp water

• 2 tsp cornstarch

  ++++ Add some more sesame oil at end
  

  Sweet and Sour Instructions

  1. Heat the sesame oil in pan at medium high heat and cook ginger and garlic until fragrant and soft.

  2. Add the water, rice wine vinegar, lemon or lime juice, honey, ketchup, siracha, soy sauce, and salt and combine well using a whisk.

  3. While the sauce is coming to a simmer, mix the cornstarch and 1 tsp water in a small bowl and slowly add the cornstarch solution into the pan while stirring the sauce. Add minced red bell pepper and cook over medium heat until sauce thickens. Remove from heat 

  If the sauce needs a little more tang, add a splash more vinegar. If it’s not sweet enough add a little honey or brown sugar.

  Oyster Deep Frying Instructions

  In a large bowl, mix together the cornstarch, flour and salt. Add the egg, 1 tablespoon oil and water, whisking until smooth.

• Refrigerate for about 30 min for a thicker/more doughy flour batter. If you want a thinner batter skip the refrigeration.

• Heat a half a pot with vegetable oil and wait until fully hot. Dip the tip of your chopstick into the batter and if it bubbles then you are ready to deep fry.

• Use your chopsticks to dunk the oyster mushrooms in the flour batter and immediately and carefully drop it into your pot of oil. Cook until golden brown (about 5-6 min) and flip mushrooms around every few minutes to get all sides evenly deep fried.

• Remove from the frying pan and let it rest on a thick paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
  

• To serve, I like to keep the oyster mushrooms crispy and dip it into the sweet and sour sauce with a side of jasmine rice. If you want to toss your deep fried oyster mushrooms in the sweet and sour sauce, add your mushrooms to a large bowl and pour some of the sweet and sour sauce over the mushrooms and toss to evenly coat. Add more sweet and sour sauce to your desired sauce level and serve with a side of Jasmine rice.