Can you really make “scallops” out of mushrooms? Am I the best person to test this? Erm, no I’m not, as I’ve never eaten scallops before. Will I try this regardless? Of course! I just wanted to join in with this idea, which certainly isn’t mine, but I didn’t want to feel left out. So here we go, vegan scallops
Yield; Two starter/appetiser size servings (240kcal per serving approx) Cook time; 10-12 minutes
You’ll need;
- 3 king oyster mushrooms, I bought mine from the refrigerated section of a local Asian supermarket
- Hot water
- A splash of light soy sauce
- Two spring onions, sliced
- One clove of garlic, minced
- Two teaspoons of dairy free butter
- 200ml dairy free cream
- 100g/3.5oz (dry weight) couscous
- 150ml hot vegetable stock
Method;
- Wash the mushrooms, slice off the tops and bottoms, then slice them into fairly thick slices
- Pop them into a bowl and cover them with hot water. This will mean they stay juicy and won’t shrink too much when you fry them. Leave them to soak for about 15 minutes
- Fry them in dairy free butter, along with the onion, garlic and soy sauce, for around five or six minutes on each side. I also added about 200ml of dairy free cream, and seasoned them with a good amount of black pepper
- Add the couscous into a bowl, pour over the hot stock then cover with a plate. Leave for 5 minutes then fluff up the grains with a fork
- Serve the “scallops” along with the couscous and cream sauce
My verdict, they have an oddly meaty texture, they felt quite flesh-like. The only thing I can think to compare them to is imitation crab (as that’s pretty much the only seafood I have any memory of eating). In regards to the cream I used, it’s just the tofu cream I make quite a bit. Just blend one block of silken tofu with 200ml unsweetened plant milk and use in place of cream.
