Air Fried Oyster Mushrooms (Vegan Fried Chicken Karaage)
Air Fried Oyster Mushrooms (AKA Vegan Oyster Mushroom Fried Chicken) are perfectly crunchy with a fraction of the calories. No splatter, healthier, and so addictive!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 9 oz. gray pearl oyster mushrooms or blue, golden oyster mushrooms
Vegan buttermilk:
- 1.5 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
- 1.5 tbsp lemon juice plus extra lemon for serving
Coating:
- ½ cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not flour)
- 10 tbsp white rice flour
- 1.25 tsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Spray Avocado oil
Bang bang sauce:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- ½-1 tsp hot sauce I use Frank’s original
- 0.2 oz Garlic grated or crushed, about 1 large clove
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1.5 tbsp ketchup
- 2 pinches coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Prep: Clean the oyster mushrooms with a paper towel (don’t wash them), trim the bottom tip end, and use your hands to separate the large clusters into large flat pieces.
- Soak: In a large mixing bowl, soak the mushrooms in vegan buttermilk for 15-20 minutes. Do not dump the milk. Save it for the next step.
- Coating: Prepare 1 bowl with the starch and another bowl with the rice flour, salt, garlic and onion powder. Lightly drip the mushrooms from the buttermilk and then dip them in starch, then back to the buttermilk, and then the rice flour. You can place them on a large plate as you work through the pieces.
- Air fry: Preheat the fryer at 400°F (204°C) for 5 minutes. Spray the basket with avocado oil. Place the oyster mushrooms in a single layer without overlapping. Spray oil over the mushrooms. Make sure you spray on all sides and there are no white spots.
- Air fryer at 380°F (193°C) for 10 minutes, flip the mushrooms and spray with another thin layer of oil and air fry 6-8 minutes on the flip side. Check after 6 minutes. Do this in 2 separate batches.
- Cooling rack: Rest the fried mushrooms on a cooling rack as you work through the second batch.
- Enjoy them right away with bang bang sauce on the side or with extra lemon wedges.
Video
Notes
- Select oyster mushrooms - look for large pieces and clusters without signs of wilting.
- Don’t rinse the mushrooms with water. Use a paper towel to clean them and remove any dirt.
- Vegan buttermilk: I found that soy milk works best for vegan buttermilk. The next option is almond milk.
- Dip in order: Dip the mushrooms in the correct order: starch - buttermilk - rice flour. Rice flour creates a light and airy texture.
- Shake out the access: After you coat the mushrooms, shake out the access. The coating should be even - not too thick or too thin.
- Use avocado oil spray: Spray the air fryer basket with a thin layer of oil and spray the mushrooms with oil on all sides. Make sure there are no white spots so the mushrooms can fry evenly.
- Don’t overcrowd the basket. Try not to overlap the mushrooms. Air fry them in batches.
-
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1048mg | Potassium: 416mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 221IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 2mg
