When we lived in England long time ago (late 90s) one of our favorite date night spots used to be a(now closed) cute little Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood. The spot was funky and unique, and the menu was always so creative. This place had plant based versions of so many classic meat/seafood dishes way before veganism became a trendy thing. This is my attempt to knock off one of my favorite items on their menu, the classic Peking Duck, they made it with mushrooms, the recipe hits all the spots and incredibly delicious. If you want to sub, tofu, cauliflower tempeh will work, I haven’t tried the latter but I don’t see why not!
The recipe calls for a good amount of mushrooms, preferably a mix of a few different kinds. Best once are shiitake, oyster, shimeji, king trumpet, and enoki mushrooms. Serve these with some crisp cucumber, green onions, and a good smear of hoisin sauce. I had a hard time finding Asian style flour pancakes, but small uncooked or cooked flour/gluten free tortilla worked beautifully. —with baby romaine lettuce or gem lettuce or Boston Bibs for a grain free light version. I wouldn’t make a full meal out of this, but it makes a lovely pre dinner appetizer or snack.
Peking Style Mushroom Pancakes
Equipment
- Grill Pan
Ingredients
- 1-1½ lbs mixed mushrooms shiitake, oyster, shimiji, king trumpet, and enoki mushrooms,
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- pinch of hot chili flakes
- 2-3 tbsp any neutral oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
To Serve
- 2-3 Persian cucumbers sliced into julienne sticks
- 4-5 spring green onions trimmed and sliced into julienne strips, then set in cold water
- ½ cup quality hoisin sauce
- 12-15 small store-bought flour tortilla/pancakes or baby romaine, little gem or similar lettuce use gluten free tortillas if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Slice the mushrooms if they’re large. Place them in a bowl and marinate them with the five-spice, chile flakes, garlic powder, sea salt and drizzle with the tamari or soy sauce and oil.
- Place them on a baking sheet or grill pan(to grill) or roast in the oven until browned and most of the moisture has evaporated, about 10-20 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning, if needed.
- Prepare the vegetables and set aside. Warm a pan and lightly toast or cook the tortillas or pancakes.
- To serve- speed a spoonful of hoisin sauce on a pancake/tortilla followed by mushrooms and garnish with cucumber and green onions. Enjoy!
This recipe was incredibly delicious, I only had the duck version and never thought of a vegetarian version of this Peking classic. The mushrooms were an excellent choice and were super delicious.