Tofu and Pulled King Oyster Mushroom Burger
Since we discovered how to grow our own mushrooms on hardwood BBQ pellets, we’ve become a bit obsessed, and king oysters are very versatile. This is a great burger that combines texture and flavour from the crispy coated tofu and sweet, sticky pulled king oysters. The pulled mushrooms are so good we often make them as a snack to eat on their own smothered in our favourite BBQ sauce. It’s a great option for vegetarians and could easily be adapted for vegans by skipping/substituting the cheese & using a cornflour/water paste instead of egg for the coating.
Makes 2 double burgers
Ingredients
Tofu Burger
1 x 450g block of extra firm tofu, sliced 1cm thick
6 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, beaten
50g panko breadcrumbs
2 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
½ tsp smoked (or normal) sea salt
2 tsp black sesame seeds
2 tsp white sesame seeds
4 slices of cheese (we use Jarlsberg)
2 burger buns
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
Pulled Mushroom
3 king oyster mushrooms, pulled (see below)
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp ssamjang paste (from Korean store/online)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
Pickled Radish
6 radishes
2 tsp sake
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp salt
2 pinch five spice
1 tsp honey
Coriander Cucumber
¼ cucumber
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
1 tsp honey
Juice ½ lime
Pinch salt
To Finish
Handful lettuce, chopped
Sriracha chilli sauce
Kewpie mayo
Method
Set up the BBQ for indirect cooking.
Using a mandolin, thinly slice the radishes. Mix the sake, vinegar, salt, five spice and honey. Add the radish slices and set aside.
Chop the cucumber into thin slices and combine with the coriander, honey, lime juice and salt.
In a bowl mix the breadcrumbs, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper, smoked sea salt and black and white sesame seeds. In a separate bowl, beat the egg.
Pat the tofu dry with kitchen paper then gently dip in the flour, wash in egg and coat with the breadcrumb mix and set aside.
Combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ssamjang and sesame oil.
Holding the mushroom by the darker cap using a fork, gently press in where the cap joins the white body and pull down towards the base. The strands should easily come apart, continue until just the cap remains, use your hand to separate any large strands. Dice up the cap.
Heat a cast iron pan or plancha and add the rapeseed oil. Fry the mushrooms over medium heat until cooked then add the hoisin sauce mix to coat, remove from the heat.
Add the remaining rapeseed oil to cast iron pan or plancha away from direct heat and add the tofu. You can add some wood chips for a bit of extra smoke if you like.
Shallow fry the tofu until golden brown and flip them over. If you don’t have a cast iron pan, the tofu burgers can be baked indirect but they won’t be as crispy.
Toast the burger buns; when the second side of the tofu is nearly cooked add a slice of cheese to the tofu slice.
Coat the burger bun in mayo and sriracha sauce, place small handful of lettuce on the base and add one or two slices of tofu. Top with pulled mushroom and the radish and cucumber.
