Vegan Calamari (Improved, Simpler Recipe)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This vegan Calamari is made of king trumpet mushroom coated in batter and deep-fried until crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It's perfect as appetizer, snack, beer pairing, or party food. Kain na, let's eat! Recipe is inspired by The Millennium's Arborio Rice Crusted King Trumpet Mushroom appetizer.
Serves: 3-5 servings
Ingredients
- canola oil for deep frying
- 11 ounces or 1 large bowl of king trumpet mushroom
- ½ cup flour of choice (I used sweet potato flour)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs (or corn meal)
- dash of garlic salt
- few pinches ground chili pepper (or Japanese or Korean chili pepper or Old Bay seasoning) (optional)
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
- few pinches sea salt
- lemon wedges for serving (optional)
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
- spiced coconut vinegar for dipping (optional)
Instructions
- Pour enough oil into a deep frying pan or pot until you have about 2 inches of oil. Heat over high heat. If you have a frying thermometer, aim for 365 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don't have a thermometer, test a small amount of mushroom and see if it bubbles right away without boiling. If it does, it's ready. If the oil is starting to smoke before putting the mushroom, your oil has become too hot. Lower heat until smoke disappears.
- Using your hands or a vegetable peeler, strip the mushroom into thin layers.
- If you want to do the traditional round shape, thinly slice the mushroom horizontally into rounds and cut out the core.
- Combine flour, breadcrumbs, and seasoning. In batches, dunk the mushroom in milk then coat in flour mixture.
- Fry in oil for 3 minutes. Repeat steps for the rest of the batch. Make sure you don't overcrowd the pan or pot when frying.
- Place calamari on paper towels to drain excess oil.
- Sprinkle sea salt all over.
- Serve immediately. Serve with lemon wedges, parsley, and spiced vinegar (optional).
- To make the American calamari version, squeeze lemon juice over fried calamari and serve with marinara or tomato sauce on the side.
Notes
You could skip the chili pepper or seafood seasoning but I highly recommend using them. It may make the recipe complicated but it will have a closer flavor to squid calamari than an obvious mushroom calamari (especially handy when serving to omnivore family and friends).
You could find Japanese and Korean chili pepper at Asian grocery stores or online.
You could find Old Bay seasoning at most supermarkets or online. I prefer Old Bay seasoning but you could use other kinds of seafood seasoning (just double check the ingredients list to make sure it's vegan).
To make the American calamari version, spritz lemon over fried calamari and serve with marinara or tomato sauce on the side.
If serving to kids, serve with vegan mayo instead of vinegar.
You could find Japanese and Korean chili pepper at Asian grocery stores or online.
You could find Old Bay seasoning at most supermarkets or online. I prefer Old Bay seasoning but you could use other kinds of seafood seasoning (just double check the ingredients list to make sure it's vegan).
To make the American calamari version, spritz lemon over fried calamari and serve with marinara or tomato sauce on the side.
If serving to kids, serve with vegan mayo instead of vinegar.
Recipe by ASTIG Vegan at https://www.astigvegan.com/vegan-calamari-2/