All About the Veg! is a biweekly recipe column where Best of Vegan contributor Seiran Sinjari breaks down one amazing plant at a time. In today’s column, she revisits oyster mushrooms, aka nature’s best vegan chicken substitute. Her vegan oyster mushroom chick’n skewers recipe takes full advantage of the mushrooms’ meaty texture, taking it to the next level with a family-inspired chicken marinade based on vegan yogurt and tahini.
For me, having grilled skewers in summer is a must. They are both easy and fun to make and you can get creative with endless variations, even as a vegan!
If you’re craving something meaty or should I say “chickeny”, then I have the perfect recipe for you. We’ve all done the plain button mushroom skewers and they’re great but they are more of a side to the main thing on the grill. Most mushrooms are great as a vegan alternative with their meaty texture and umami that they develop when cooked. But there’s one mushroom that is particularly meaty with the perfect texture for a chicken substitute, the oyster mushroom, yes we’re revisiting this wonder of nature.
There are different varieties of oyster mushrooms and for this recipe, I’m using pearl oyster mushrooms as they are very mild in flavor and will really absorb all the flavors of the delicious marinade. Also, they don’t require that long cooking time so they are perfect for grilling, you’ll get a nice golden brown surface and they will be cooked through.
What makes these skewers so special and extra delicious is the vegan yogurt and tahini marinade. It’s packed with flavors and really gives that chicken skewer flavor that I’m used to from my childhood as this is inspired by my mom’s chicken marinade recipe. Cornstarch is added to help achieve a nice crispy golden crust.
Ingredients
For the mushroom skewers:
- 300 g oyster mushrooms
- olive oil for brushing grill pan or griddle
Marinade:
- ½ cup vegan Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp Aleppo chili or other mild red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp yellow curry powder
- ⅓ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ yellow onion
- 2 small mild green peppers or 1 jalapeño
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
To make the skewers:
- Place all ingredients for the marinade in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Clean the oyster mushrooms with a clean damp kitchen towel.
- Tear oyster mushrooms into smaller chunks and pour the marinade over the mushrooms. Gently combine until all pieces are well coated.
- Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30-60 minutes before cooking the skewers, to avoid burning them.
- Thread the mushroom pieces tightly onto the skewer. Brush your grill pan/barbecue griddle with oil, and grill the skewers over medium-high heat until they are golden brown on both sides. If you want, you can put a little pressure on the skewer at the beginning to draw out more moisture faster, but be careful not to burn them instead.
- Serve with flatbread and vegetables with condiments such as pickles, sumac onions, and vegan garlic and yogurt sauce with dried mint.
To make sumac onions:
- Place sliced onions in the bowl of ice water and let soak for 10-20 minutes before draining well. The soaking will take the edge off the sharp onion flavor and balance it.
- Mix well, massaging the onions with your fingertips until all pieces of onion are coated with the sumac.
- Top with parsley (if using).
- The sumac onions are best eaten the same day freshly prepared.
Notes
Recipe, text, and photography by Seiran Sinjari.
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In the video on Instagram, I saw the red onions seasoned. Can you include information on that too
Hi Nida,
We’ve updated the recipe and included information on the sumac onions you saw in the video 🙂
Hope this helps!