Whether you’re craving seafood, or just enjoy good food, these “scallops” will please your palate! I’m so happy I finally had the chance to make these, and that they were everything I’d hoped.
A while back, I was told that king oyster mushrooms were the best ingredient to use for making faux scallops. I got really excited! I don’t miss much being vegan — I’m always creating new yummy foods — but it would be nice to taste some old familiar flavors of the sea. From that day on, I was on the hunt for those mushrooms!
I knew I’d seen them before, either in the store or at the farmer’s market, but was having zero luck. It’s been almost six months since I started looking for these, and just three days ago, it finally happened. A friend was down in the city at a Korean Market and sent me a photo, “King oyster mushroom,” she texted. I was SO excited! She didn’t even know I’d been looking for them but sent me the picture because she thought they looked cool. Once she caught on to my enthusiasm, she offered to bring me some. Three dollars for five of these babies (they’re big) — score!
For part of yesterday, and all morning today, I was doing some research, to see how people have been preparing these “scallops.” I knew what kind of dish I wanted to make and what I wanted to cook them in, but didn’t know what to do with the mushrooms beforehand. I found out I definitely needed to soak them first. Some people just used water, but others used a marinade. The marinade was more up my alley.
The marinades I saw people using all varied. Broth, either vegetable or chicken-flavored vegetable, and white wine were the two common denominators. I was a little surprised I didn’t see any using kelp powder or something similar, or really anything trying to mock a fishy flavor. I thought maybe it wasn’t the way to go — maybe they don’t need it. Finally, I saw one recipe which did. I didn’t follow that recipe but was more confident in what I wanted to do.
Once I learned I needed to soak them, and figured out the ingredients for my marinade, I was ready to go! I did a little whisk-and-taste to make sure I got the amounts right, added a little more of this and that, and then the mushrooms were set to bathe. Mine ended up bathing for almost two hours, flipping once halfway through. The recipes I read had an average of one hour, so they may not need to sit quite this long.
To cook the mushrooms, or “scallops” rather, I decided to make a scampi sauce. Something so simple and yet so delicious. Garlic, red onions, vegan butter, and white wine. I also tossed in some green onions and a little dill at the end. The mushrooms only took about ten minutes to cook, and though there’s a lot of prep work initially, they’re pretty simple to make.
First I added the non-dairy margarine, with garlic and red onion (to make soy free, be careful which margarine you get). I sautéed them for about two minutes. Next, I added the wine and let everything simmer until onions were soft. This was when I added the mushrooms.
They cooked for five minutes, I flipped them, added the whites of some scallions, and sautéed them for about five more minutes, adding the dill right at the end. A few of the mushrooms took a minute or two more to cook, but it’s easy to tell by simply pressing down on the top on them and feeling if they’re soft. I left them all in the pan while waiting for those few to get soft, moving the firmer ones to the middle of the pan.
I served my “scallops” around brown rice, and we had a green salad and garlic bread as our sides. My husband and I had garlic bread made out of some gluten-free/paleo naan I make, and my son got regular french bread.
How did they turn out, you ask? Ah-MAZE-ing! You wouldn’t have ever known they were mushrooms because the king oysters have a very mild flavor, and the texture… wow! Okay, probably more like abalone, but that’s the same ballpark. It totally worked. Everything tasted great, and I couldn’t wait to sit down to write this all out for you. Well, I waited till after I had my last bite, no problem, but then got busy. Now that you know what these are all about let’s make some scallops!
If you try and love these as I do, let me know by leaving a comment below, or tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
Mushroom "Scallop" Scampi
Ingredients
For the marinade...
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1 1/2 tsp kelp granules
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Everything else...
- 5 large king oyster mushrooms
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- 3 scallions chopped, greens and whites separated
- 1 tsp dill plus more for garnish, chopped
- 1 stick vegan margarine if soy or nut-free make sure to check ingredients, Earth Balance makes a soy free variety
- 2-3 Tbsp garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3-4 servings brown rice, rice of choice, or cauliflower "rice" for grain free (I've used sprouted brown Basmati as well as turmeric & truffle seasoned cauliflower "rice")
Instructions
- Slice tops off mushrooms, you can keep these to use later for another recipe. Then cut each in pieces about 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick, to resemble scallops. Place mushrooms in a 9x9 baking dish, or another dish or container of a similar size. One that will fit mushrooms, without leaving too much excess room in the dish (see photo above).
- Whisk together marinade ingredients and pour in dish over mushrooms. Marinade should cover the bottom half of each mushroom piece. These will now sit for 1-2 hours. Half way through marinating, flip each mushroom so both ends get saturated.
- Melt margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Once margarine is melted, add garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup white wine plus the red onion. Sauté on medium heat until onion slices are translucent. While onions are cooking you may also add the lemon, salt, and pepper.
- Place mushrooms (but not the marinade) in skillet and let cook 5 minutes. Keep broth at a simmer. If it starts to boil, turn down the heat a bit. Flip the mushrooms and add the chopped whites of scallions. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, adding dill after 4 minutes.
- Check for doneness by putting pressure on the tops of the mushrooms, to see if they've gotten soft. Some may need a minute or two more. Move these to the hottest part of your skillet. To serve, place one serving of brown rice on a deep plate or in a bowl. Align "scallops" around the rice. Spoon broth over scallops and top with the chopped greens of scallions. Garnish with dill if desired.