Vegan herring mushrooms – Asian style!

Does anyone remember plant-based herrings I posted here during the Christmas season? This is a festive vegan tapas that surprises with the taste those who are a bit sceptical about vegan cuisine. Today I am happy to present my Asian -inspired version, with a sheet of nori, garlic, soy sauce and a smoked twist. It finally happened and I must admit that I am really happy with the result. This is my new favourite way to prepare oyster mushrooms.

It’s a really good idea to prepare a larger jar of this dish. I describe the serving suggestions in the „tips”, under the recipe, but now I can tell you that soon I will post in another recipe in which such Asian oyster fishy-mushrooms will really shine.

Recipe for about 300g of mushrooms (it is easy to modify depending on the amount of mushrooms). It is worth preparing more, because oyster mushrooms will significantly shrink during baking or frying, and ready vegan herring can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a week.

  • 300 g of oyster mushrooms
  • A few tbsp of rapeseed oil (for frying or baking)

If necessary, clean the oyster mushrooms with a kitchen towel. If they are really big, cut them into small pieces. You can decide whether you want to bake or fry the mushrooms – both solutions will be good. However, I recommend the first option as it requires less work and oil, but you should also bake something else at the same time, haha.

Baked mushrooms:
 1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
2. Using your hands, gently massage a few tablespoons of rapeseed oil into the mushrooms and place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. The mushrooms should not be sticking to each other. If necessary – use two sheets.
3. Bake for about 20 minutes until they start to lightly blush and shrink.

or

Fried mushrooms:
 1. Heat a couple of tablespoons of rapeseed oil in a large frying pan.
2. Place the mushrooms in the pan so that they all have contact with the bottom and can be fried well. It is best to fry half of the mushrooms first so that they don’t stick to each other.
3. Do not stir the oyster mushrooms but let them brown slightly and flip them after a few minutes. They are ready when they start to become slightly golden on both sides. After frying, let them rest on the paper kitchen towel.

Asian marinade for oyster mushrooms

  • 3 full tbsp of light soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp linseed oil
  • 4 tbsp rice vinegar (alternatively: 3 tbsp of apple cider or white wine vinegar)
  • 1 tsp sweet syrup (for example agave syrup; you can also use 1 tsp of sugar)
  • 1 fat garlic clove, pressed or grated (or two smaller cloves)
  • 1 tsp Korean gochugaru pepper or simply smoked paprika
  • 1 piece of the nori sheet
  • Optional: 1 star anise (highly recommended! But I would suggest to throw it away, after 24h in the marinade, as the flavour of it will get strong) piece of fresh chilli pepper / big pinch of grounded chilli
  1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a jar or container, the same one you will use to mix it with mushrooms & then keep it in the fridge. Mix everything thoroughly. You can fold nori sheet few times and put it on the bottom of the container.
  2. Combine the roasted or fried mushrooms (no matter if they are warm or cold) with the marinate: mix it well, but delicate. Close the jar or container and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour to let the flavours combine.

Tips:

  • Because of the cold linseed oil nutrictions, it is good to eat the oyster herrings cold (this is also how they taste the best, in my opinion). With the piece of good bread, on the sandwich, with some rice – with a tablespoon of the marinade, in all the Asian soups, as a starter or just part of the bowl / plate of plenty!
  • As I already mentioned, oyster mushrooms can be stored in the fridge for at least a week (not sure if they gonna last that long haha). Intense marinate, which it full of „fish” flavour you can use as a base for the sauce for another dish or just prepare fried-rice using it: then serve it with a lot of sesame seeds and chopped chieves.
  • More traditional version of these oyster herrings (from my Polish perspective, of course), with onion, mustard or sour cream sauce you can find HERE. Feel free to roast or fry more mushrooms and prepare a lot of vegan herrings!

Still hungry?