Cornmeal-Fried Oyster Mushroom Po’Boy
Photography by Ed Anderson © 2020
My plant-based journey has not been linear. Many people stop eating animal products and never look back. Not me. I started experimenting with veganism late in high school. I had periods in college where I was a strict vegan and other times when I wasn’t (trust me, it was extremely challenging being a vegan while studying abroad in France in 1997). Nowadays, I have a plant-centered diet, but I tend to avoid labeling myself. I am driven by a desire to see justice for all living beings. I also know that there is a growing body of medical research that connects eating a plant-based diet with a lower risk of heart disease and other preventable diet-related illnesses, so I am also about that plant-based life for myself, my wife, and my girls. That being said, this po’boy takes me back to the early days of living in New Orleans when I was all about fish po’boys. Change is good.
Reprinted with permission from Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by Bryant Terry, copyright © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
How to Make It
1
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flaxseeds and 3 tablespoons of the water with a fork to combine.
2
Add the rice flour, arrowroot powder, cornmeal, salt, and black pepper to the flax mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water and mix well.
3
Fill a Dutch oven or wok with safflower oil to a depth of about 2 inches and heat the oil to 350°F over medium-high heat. Heat the oven to 200°F. Line a platter with paper towels.
4
When the oil is hot, in three or four batches, dip the mushrooms in the batter and toss to coat them well. Carefully transfer them to the hot oil and fry, until crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. (If needed, gently agitate them with a slotted spoon to break apart any mushrooms that begin to stick together.) Use a slotted spoon or a spatula to trans¬fer the mushrooms to the platter, season lightly with salt, then place in the warm oven. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms, adding more water to the batter, as needed, if it becomes too thick to coat.
5
While the mushrooms are frying, halve the bread horizontally, then crosswise, and lightly toast it. Spread the cut sides of the bread generously with rémoulade (I’m talking about a messy slather) and top the bottom halves evenly with the coleslaw. Add a generous handful of the mushrooms, sprinkle with pepper and douse with hot sauce. Cover with the top halves of the bread, and enjoy.
Ingredients
3 tbsp ground flaxseeds
3 tbsp plus 1 1/2 cups water, plus more as needed
1 cup rice flour
½ cup arrowroot powder
½ cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Safflower oil, for frying
2 lbs oyster mushrooms, tough ends removed, torn into generous bite-size pieces
2 (15-inch) loaves soft-crusted French or Italian bread
Creole Rémoulade, for dressing (link to recipe below)
2 cups Memphis Coleslaw (link to recipe below)
Freshly ground white pepper
Crystal hot sauce
Directions
1
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flaxseeds and 3 tablespoons of the water with a fork to combine.
2
Add the rice flour, arrowroot powder, cornmeal, salt, and black pepper to the flax mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water and mix well.
3
Fill a Dutch oven or wok with safflower oil to a depth of about 2 inches and heat the oil to 350°F over medium-high heat. Heat the oven to 200°F. Line a platter with paper towels.
4
When the oil is hot, in three or four batches, dip the mushrooms in the batter and toss to coat them well. Carefully transfer them to the hot oil and fry, until crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. (If needed, gently agitate them with a slotted spoon to break apart any mushrooms that begin to stick together.) Use a slotted spoon or a spatula to trans¬fer the mushrooms to the platter, season lightly with salt, then place in the warm oven. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms, adding more water to the batter, as needed, if it becomes too thick to coat.
5
While the mushrooms are frying, halve the bread horizontally, then crosswise, and lightly toast it. Spread the cut sides of the bread generously with rémoulade (I’m talking about a messy slather) and top the bottom halves evenly with the coleslaw. Add a generous handful of the mushrooms, sprinkle with pepper and douse with hot sauce. Cover with the top halves of the bread, and enjoy.
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