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How to make Asian-style Vegan Roast ‘Chicken’ mushrooms

August 28, 2021 by woonheng 25 Comments

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This Asian-style vegan roast ‘chicken’, 素烧鸡 is succulent and flavorful in each bite. Similar to my vegan lemon ‘chicken’, king oyster mushroom is the key to the juicy tender filling.

vegan-roast-chicken

I love mushrooms – a lot! It’s a versatile ingredient that gives a dish so much flavor. Using mushrooms as the main ingredient to create that meaty texture has been around since I was a kid. This includes mutton made from mushrooms stem, chicken satay made from lion’s mane mushrooms, and many many more.

Similar to my vegan lemon ‘chicken’, I’m using king oyster mushroom which has the most fantastic texture that yields a juicy tender filling in this recipe. If you have not tried this type of mushroom before, the taste is milder than dried Shiitake and has a distinct meaty and juiciness texture when cooked.

vegan-roast-chicken

Normally, roast chicken is served with chicken rice and a side of ginger-garlic chile sauce. Since I’ve shared the char siu rice in my previous posts, I’m focusing on creating just the entrée here. This recipe is inspired by VegePapa‘s YouTube channel.

How to make Asian-style Vegan Roast ‘Chicken’

Step 1: Prepare the mushroom

Clean the king oyster mushrooms with a brush to remove debris. Then, cut off the top and reserve that for other dishes such as stir-fries.

vegan-roast-chicken

Fill a large pot or skillet with water, enough to submerge the mushrooms without overflowing. Set to high heat and bring to boil. Season with a pinch of salt. Prepare a bowl of ice water.

Carefully slide the mushrooms into the hot water. Using a tong, turn and submerge the mushrooms so the whole stem is fully cooked through about 10 minutes. After 5-8 minutes, you’ll notice that the skin starts to turn from white to slightly gray. To check the doneness, insert a cake tester into the stem. If it goes through easily, then it’s ready. Tip: When the mushroom is fully through, it should also feel heavy when you lift it up.

vegan-roast-chicken

Remove and quickly immerse the mushrooms in the bowl of ice water to cool down.

vegan-roast-chicken

To cut the mushrooms into cutlet shape, you’ll need a sharp knife. Pat the mushroom dry and lay it on a sturdy flat surface or chopping board. Using a knife, make a large slit from the cap towards the stem. Turn the knife to ‘peel’ the mushrooms like how you peel an apple in a spiral motion. Aim to keep it as a whole cutlet between 5mm – 1cm thick piece, depending on how large the mushroom is. Then, gently score both sides. Continue with the remaining mushrooms.

Prepare the salt rub by mixing together mushrooms seasoning, salt, sugar, and a dash of Chinese 5-spice powder in a bowl. Then, rub the mushrooms cutlets generously with this prepared salt. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Step 2: Assemble the cutlet

Prepare the soy sauce marinade and a brush. To create the flaky exterior layer, I used frozen tofu skin or yuba (picture below). Instead of using water to soften the skin, brush it with the soy sauce marinade above. This will season and turn the skin into a pliable wrapper at the same time.

Because my tofu skin comes in a large round wrapper, I halved it. Each half is enough to wrap 2 cutlets.

vegan-roast-chicken

Place a tofu skin on a work surface and brush it with the soy sauce marinade until it starts to soften.

Stack 2 cutlets together and place them to the lower end of the tofu skin. Lift up the bottom and fold over the mushrooms. Tuck the tip of the tofu skin under the bottom cutlet. Bring both sides of the tofu skin to the middle, then fold it up to the top. While folding, brush each opening with the soy sauce. Repeat with the last 2 cutlets.

Step 3: Cook the mushrooms cutlet and serve

Fill a large non-stick skillet with enough oil to rise up to 2-cm to the side of the pan. Set to medium and heat to about 300F. To test, drop a piece of unused tofu skin into the oil, if it starts to sizzle, then, it’s ready.

Carefully slide the wrapped cutlet into the hot oil, seamed side down, and shallow fry until golden brown, turning occasionally. Fry in 2 batches if the skillet is small. If the tofu skin turns brown too quickly, turn down the heat.

When ready, transfer the cutlet to a cooling rack. Cut into bite-sized pieces when it’s cooled and serve with a cucumber and a side of ginger-garlic chile sauce.

Asian-style vegan roast ‘chicken’ cooking tips

  • King oyster mushrooms are hard to come by sometimes, so feel free to sub the filling using my vegan unagi or sweet and sour ‘fish’ recipe. The texture will be different but with the tofu skin wrap, anything will turn super yum.
  • The recipe calls for 4 stems, which weighs about 1.2lbs (550g) in total. Generally, a medium-sized 5-in to 6-in tall stem with a 1.5-in diameter is what I get. The weight is not the main point though, so get 4 that is about the same size so you can stack them together. Large stem yields a larger cutlet.
  • Tofu skin (Yuba) works the best as they can wrap the cutlets snuggly in just a few folds. Once fried, it also creates a crispy layer on the outside and once cooled, it softens a little for a chewier bite. I’ve tried with softened rice paper as well and air-fry it until crispy but you’ll need to consume it quickly or it will turn chewy quick.
  • Other marinade option – Instead of salt rub, feel free to use the vegan lemon ‘chicken’ marinade for the mushrooms. If you can find red fermented bean curd, add that to the soy sauce marinade for a robust flavor (which is what we use for smoked ‘goose’).
vegan-roast-chicken

This Vegan roast ‘chicken’ is

  • Made from the juicy and tender king oyster mushrooms
  • easily customizable – use gluten free soy sauce as an option
  • allium-free
  • Delicious and tasty as-is

If you try this recipe, I would love to hear your feedback and see your beautiful re-creation. Leave me a comment, rate it, and tag @woon.heng and #woonheng to your photos on Instagram or Facebook. Happy cooking, friends!

Asian-style Vegan Roast ‘Chicken’ mushroom – 素烧鸡

woonheng
Made from just a few simple ingredients, this Asian-style vegan roast 'chicken' mushroom is so succulent and tasty. The marinated tofu skin (yuba) definitely gives this dish an amazing roasted look that you can't resist having a bite.
5 from 8 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Asian, Chinese
Servings 3

Ingredients
 
 

  • 4 large King oyster mushrooms ~1.2 lbs
  • 1 large tofu skin yuba

Salt rub

  • ½ teaspoon mushrooms seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • dash of Chinese 5-spice powder

Marinade

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon mushroom seasoning
  • ¼ cup of water

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the mushrooms. Clean the stems with a brush to remove debris. Then, slice the top off. Fill a large pot or wok with water and bring it to a boil. While waiting for the water to come to a boil, prepare a bowl of ice water.
  • Season the hot water with salt and carefully slide in the mushrooms.
  • Boil the mushrooms, turning occasionally and immerse them into the hot water when they float up. Cook for about 10 minutes until the outer layer turn slightly grayish. To check the doness, insert a cake tester into the stem and if it goes through easily, it's done. If not, cook for another minute or so. The mushroom should feel heavy when you lift it up.
  • When ready, remove the stems and soak them in the ice water bath.
  • Prepare the salt rub by mixing together mushrooms seasoning, sugar, salt, and Chinese 5-spice powder in a bowl until well combined.
  • Next, drain out the mushrooms water. Take a stem and pat dry with paper towel and gently squeeze to remove the water that’s trapped inside.
  • To create a cutlet, place the stem on a chopping board with the length facing you like the number 1. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the mushrooms in a spiral motion (think of peeling an apple) until you get a large cutlet. At this time, the cutlet will curl up, turn it over and score the side. This should flatten the cutlet. Now, turn it over and score the other side. Repeat until you get 4 cutlets.
  • To season the cutlet, pat dry the cutlet with towel, if needed. Then, rub each side with the salt rub and let them sit for at least 15 minutes.
  • Prepare the soy sauce liquid by whisk together soy sauce, maple syrup, mushroom seasoning, and water in a bowl until well combined.
  • Next, using a pair of scissors, cut the large tofu skin into half. Brush one side with the soy sauce liquid until they start to soften.
  • Stack two cutlets together and place it on one end of the tofu skin. Lift the bottom of the tofu skin up and fold over the cutlets. Tuck the tofu skin under the bottom cutlet to secure it. Then, fold in the sides and flip to roll up the cutlet. Brush the tofu skin with each roll (check my video or pictures above). Repeat the same steps with the next cutlet.
  • To cook the cutlet, fill a non-stick skillet with oil to rise up to 2-cm to the side of the pan. Heat the oil to 300F. To check the oil, drop a piece of tofu skin into the hot oil, if it sizzles, then the oil is ready. Carefully slide the cutlet and shallow fry, turning occasionally with a tong, until golden brown. Fry in 2 batches if needed.
  • When ready, dish out the cutlet and transfer to a drain rack to cool. The drain rack will keep the cutlet crispy as well.
  • Then, cut each cutlet into bite-sized slices and serve with a side of ginger-garlic sauce.

Video

Keyword Alliumfree, King oyster mushrooms, veganchicken
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Feel free to pin the below picture on your Pinterest Board for easy reference.
vegan-roast-chicken
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Filed Under: Appetizers, Savory

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kate

    January 27, 2023 at 7:23 pm

    Can the yuba skin be a dried version off the shelf?

    Reply
  2. Lavona

    June 27, 2022 at 8:52 pm

    This is one of the first recipes in a long time I followed to a T and holy s***, it is AMAZING!!

    I will be making this again ❤❤❤

    Reply
  3. Sasza

    April 16, 2022 at 4:50 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Woonheng,
    I’ve tried recipe you introduced above and it turned out to be great meal 🙂 & will me more often on my table. It was a bit challenging not to burst yuba but I made it! 🙂
    Thank you very much 🙂

    Reply
  4. Lili

    September 16, 2021 at 4:58 pm

    5 stars
    This turned out great when I got the correct ingredients 🙂 The crispy skin is so good. Thank you, Woon Heng!

    Reply
  5. Jess

    September 15, 2021 at 1:15 pm

    5 stars
    My friend and I tried it! We weren’t sure if it would work but it turned out amazing. Definitely will do it again, maybe text time with the lemon sauce. 🤩

    Reply
    • woonheng

      September 16, 2021 at 5:05 pm

      Woohoo, thanks so much Jess. I can’t wait for you to try the lemon sauce one. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Jan Tam

    September 7, 2021 at 9:16 pm

    5 stars
    Wow… This vegan roast chicken tastes so delicious. My husband and I love it very much. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • woonheng

      September 16, 2021 at 5:04 pm

      Thanks so much, Jan. So glad you loved the recipe. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Yvonne

    September 7, 2021 at 6:47 am

    My clean plate say it all! So surprisingly good and best of all easy to find ingredients and budget friendly. It’s a keeper! Can’t wait to see more from you ❤️

    Reply
    • woonheng

      September 16, 2021 at 5:06 pm

      Wow, thanks so much, Yvonne. That means so much, and I’m happy that you are looking forward to try my other recipes. Best, WoonHeng

      Reply
  8. Shushu Le

    September 2, 2021 at 10:25 am

    This is literally one of the best vegan recipe I’ve ever tried. Definitely a must try dish and I can’t wait to make this for the whole family, friends and see how they react. Thank you Woon so so much for this amping recipe❣️

    Reply
    • woonheng

      September 16, 2021 at 5:06 pm

      Thanks so so much Shushu for recreating this dish. Yours look so yummy! Wishing you a great day. Best, WoonHeng

      Reply
  9. Jodie RP

    September 1, 2021 at 4:13 am

    5 stars
    This was super delicious! My Omni son and hubby couldn’t stop eating it and I loved the crunchy/chewy skin (this was my fave part of roast chicken). The flavour is yummy and reminds me of childhood.
    My parcels came apart a little when I fried it but I think I needed to brush more marinade on as I wrapped it up.
    My son asked me to make it again.
    Thanks Woon!!

    Reply
  10. Jesse-Gabriel

    August 30, 2021 at 10:46 am

    5 stars
    Oh wow, das klingt großartig und sieht auch so täuschend echt aus, vielen Dank für das großartige Rezept! Viele Grüße sendet, Jesse-Gabriel aus Berlin

    Oh wow, that sounds great and looks so deceptively real, thank you very much for the great recipe! Best regards, Jesse-Gabriel from Berlin

    Reply
    • Hannah

      September 11, 2021 at 3:47 am

      Hallo Jesse-Gabriel,
      Kannst du mir sagen, wo man solche großen Austernseitlinge kaufen kann? Wohne in Stuttgart und habe also eine relativ große Auswahl an Märkten.
      Viele Grüße
      Hannah

      Reply
      • Sandra

        December 11, 2021 at 2:35 am

        King Oyster ist nicht Austernseitling, sondern Kräuterseitling. Die gibt’s in den meisten Supermärkten.

        Reply
    • woonheng

      September 16, 2021 at 5:07 pm

      Super grateful for your note, Jesse-Gabriel. Thank YOU so much for your sweet message and so glad you loved the recipe. 🙂 Best, WoonHeng

      Reply
  11. K

    August 30, 2021 at 9:58 am

    I really love tofu skin (and mushrooms), and this looks really fun to make. That “skin” is beautiful! I’m looking forward to trying this.

    Reply
    • Mavis Loo

      September 12, 2021 at 10:41 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is so good & delicious! Anyone should give a try!

      Reply
      • WoonHeng Chia

        September 13, 2021 at 2:26 pm

        Thanks so much Mavis. Super grateful for your feedback. Yours look exceptional. YUM. Best, WoonHeng

        Reply
    • woonheng

      September 16, 2021 at 5:07 pm

      Awesome, K. Hope you like this version. Thanks so much!

      Reply
      • Zhi Tong

        September 23, 2021 at 7:41 am

        5 stars
        Thank you Woon Heng for introducing this meatless roasted chicken recipe! My dad who is an avid lover of chicken rice, tried this and he was amazed at this dish. I think it’s amazing to know and learn that this roasted chicken can be meatless and while knowing that h eat this dish without harming any animals (by not eating their meat) makes one feel great. Thank you for creating this recipe so that my family can go vegan for the meals they love! Going to try out more of your recipes:)

        Reply

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