Crispy Mushroom & Tofu Tacos
An Asian fusion inspired taco with a crispy mushroom and tofu filling, spicy cucumber slaw, and kimchi.
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This is one of those recipes that came from me standing in the kitchen come lunchtime complaining that we didn’t have any ingredients on hand to make anything and being about 2.2 seconds away from ordering takeout. Feeling guilty that there were, in fact, tons of leftover ingredients on hand I decided to just play in the kitchen and see what I could come up with. As always (well most of the time), these types of meals end up being my very favorite.
That day, I had a bunch of mushrooms and Asian ingredients as well as some things leftover from a taco recipe I had made so Asian fusion it was! I started with crisping up some oyster mushrooms and tofu in a skillet and deglazing with tamari and a touch of agave for sweetness. That day, I didn’t make a slaw so I just tucked the crunchy vegetables into the tortillas before adding the mushroom mixture and a drizzle of spicy mayo. They were delicious and I was so glad I skipped the takeout and used up what I had on hand. I also knew that I needed to translate what I did to a more concrete recipe and well, here we are.
Transforming the vegetables into a slaw was the perfect decision. The spicy + crunchy + cool combo is simply divine with the earthy mushrooms and tofu. A quick char on the tortillas adds some smokiness which I adore. All in all, this is a pretty great way to eat a bunch of vegetables in taco form, who could complain about that? If I were to ever “diet” again (I won’t by the way, and there may be a Tuesday essay about toxic diet culture in the near future), I’d have to say that I would no doubt cozy up with the Taco Cleanse cookbook and call it a day. I could eat tacos in all their forms for every meal and never grow tired.
Ingredient Notes
It really does make a huge difference in how things turn out if you use the best ingredients you can find. For me, this looks like local tortillas from Three Sisters Nixtamal, a good mayonnaise (Trader Joe’s Vegan Mayo Spread & Dressing is made with avocado oil and is a personal favorite), and a good Sriracha (Yellowbird is sweetened with dates which I adore and has a fantastic flavor profile).
For the kimchi, there really are endless options but after meeting the founder of Mama O’s Kimchi a few years ago and trying their kimchi along with many, many others, it remains a favorite. Do note, if you want to keep this recipe strictly vegan be sure to check the ingredients as a lot of kimchi brands include fish sauce. Mama O’s Vegan Kimchi is my go-to.
If you can’t find oyster mushrooms, any wild/gourmet mushrooms will work here. I don’t recommend using white button mushrooms but Lion’s Mane, Shiitake, Maitake, Clamshell (any type), King Trumpet, or Enoki all work well.
Crispy Mushroom & Tofu Tacos
Ingredients
Method
- First, make the slaw by combining all of the ingredients in a large bowl, toss well to combine, and taste for additional Sriracha of salt if needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the mushrooms in a single layer on one side and the crumbled tofu on the other side. Sear, without moving for 3-4 minutes until a golden crust has formed on both the mushrooms and the tofu and each is easily released from the pan.
- Stir and continue to cook for 4-5 more minutes to allow the other sides to crisp. Once the mushrooms and tofu are crispy, pour in the tamari and agave. Mix well and continue to cook until the liquid has absorbed, an additional minute or two.
- To serve, top each tortilla with the slaw mixture then divide to mushroom tofu filling between them. Top with kimchi and sesame seeds to serve.
