Listen y’all, this vegan calamari is better than the real thing, any day! Truthfully, I’ve eaten real calamari and it is not pleasant… more like rubbery AF. This veg-friendly version is made from oyster mushrooms, and has a crispy AF batter that you’ll fall in love with. You can squeeze on some fresh lemon, dunk ’em in ketchup, or make the tartar sauce from Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face! However ya fancy these scrumptious bites, they’re sure to put a smile on your face.
I’m honestly not sure why I make “seafood”/seefood dishes for Valentine’s Day, but let’s go with it. You’ll recall a couple of v-days ago I made the scallops and spaghetti dish. This year I did 2 vegan Valentine’s Day seefoods and it all goes pretty nicely with the options in my cookbook, too! You could serve a whole smorgasbord of seefoods including the crispy crabless cakes and the seefood chowder, as well as the vegan oysters rockefeller you’ll see in the video below. How cute is all this?! Plus you’re saving the planet and the beautiful blue oceans, so bonus!
If you’re looking for a v-day dessert, try the crème brûlée or the chocolate hazelnut tarts for a sweet treat.
vegan calamari
With just a but of clever chopping and cutting you can turn king oyster mushrooms into crispy AF vegan calamari!
Ingredients
mushrooms
- 3 to 4 king oyster mushrooms
- 2 lemon wedges, as garnish
- the tartar sauce (from the hot for food cookbook), for dipping
- finely chopped parsley, as garnish (optional)
- vegetable oil, for frying
batter
- 1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- up to 1 C club soda
Instructions
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Slice mushroom stems width-wise into 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch rounds. Reserve the mushroom tops for another use.
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Depending on the thickness of your oyster mushroom stems, use a 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or the round end of a metal piping tip to punch holes into the center of each mushroom round. You’ll also batter and fry up the inside circles you punch out.
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You can deep fry in a large flat-bottomed pot or a deep fryer. After doing the deep fryer method in the video above, I actually recommend doing this with a pot with a thermometer attached. This way you have more control over separating the mushroom pieces. I found they sank, and stuck to the bottom of the fry basket! If using the pot ensure you add enough vegetable oil so you have at least 2-inches of oil on the bottom. Ensure oil is heated to 350°F before frying the mushrooms.
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To make the batter, in a medium bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, cornstarch, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, and ground pepper until well combined. Slowly add the club soda while whisking until you get a pancake-like batter. You might not use the entire 1 cup of club soda to achieve this consistency. It should stick well to the mushroom pieces and not drip off too much.
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Working in batches, add half the mushroom pieces to the batter and toss to evenly coat with your hands. Tap off the excess and gently add a couple pieces at a time to the frying oil.
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Use a wooden spoon or chopstick to separate the mushroom pieces, while frying so they don’t stick together.
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Once the pieces float to the surface in about 2 minutes, flip and fry the other side for about 2 more minutes. It should take about 4 to 5 minutes total to reach a nice golden brown color.
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Remove the fried mushrooms with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined baking sheet or large platter. Repeat until all remaining mushroom pieces are fried.
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Squeeze some lemon juice over the vegan calamari just before serving and use the tartar sauce from the hot for food cookbook for dipping or use a pre-made vegan tartar sauce. Regular shrimp cocktail sauce is also vegan friendly, or you can whip up your own by combining ketchup and horseradish. That’s all it is anyway! You could add a bit of garlic and/or lemon juice if you really want!
11 thoughts on “vegan calamari”
This looks fantastic!
I’m wondering though if kelp or dulse flakes might make it taste a little more seafood-like. Have you tried it?
Wonderful! You can also find more vegan seafood recipes and resources at https://www.FishFeel.org/seafood
Have you tried or do you know if an air fryer would work?
I used to love calamari before I turned vegan! These were absolutely amazing, wonder how they’d turn out in an air fryer though!
This looks great…I am going to try baking it instead of frying.
Did the baking work? Got my fingers crossed!
Great information. Lucky me I came across your website by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
Hi There, is it freezable do you know?
only once fully fried and cooled. You could freeze. Then reheat in oven at 425F until crisp!
Is a Air Fryer would work?
no because it’s a wet batter!