Introducing the best vegan pulled 'pork' sandwiches! Topped with homemade coleslaw and crispy seasoned onion strings, this sandwich is sure to be a hot among vegans and meat-eaters alike!
Ingredients
Sandwiches
2 pounds king oyster mushrooms, stems removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon each - smoked paprika, garlic powder, liquid smoke
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 sesame seed buns
½ cup BBQ sauce of your choice, plus more for serving
Coleslaw
5 cups loosely packed coleslaw, mixed
½ cup red onion, finely diced
¾ cup vegan mayonnaise, such as the brand JUST
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
½ teaspoon celery seed
Onion Strings
1 medium size white onion, sliced very thin - if you have a mandolin, slice it on the thinnest setting
1 cup all purpose flour, such as Bob's Red Mill
1 cup panko bread crumbs
¾ cup original, unsweetened non-dairy milk, such as Almond Breeze Almond Milk
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1-2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
Sandwiches
Use a fork to shred the stems of the king oyster mushrooms (save the caps for veggie stir fry or veggie broth) until they resemble shredded meat
In an 8x11 baking dish, toss the shredded mushroom with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, spices, and liquid smoke. Using your hands, toss to combine mushrooms and seasonings, making sure everything is evenly coated. Place mushrooms in the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes, tossing every 10-15 minutes.
While your mushrooms are baking, prepare coleslaw and onion strings
Coleslaw
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix throughly. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble your sandwiches
Onion Strings
In a larg ziploc bag (big enough to shake the onion strings around), add flour and ½ teaspoon sea salt and flour. Set aside. In a shallow bowl, add non-dairy milk. Set aside.
Place onion strings in the bag of flour and shake well, until all the onions are coated with flour. Remove onions from the bad and set aside.
In the same bad that you tossed the onions and flour in, add panko bread crumbs and remaining sea salt. It's ok if there's still a bit of flour in the bag.
Using tongs, place the flour coated onion strings into the non-dairy milk, making sure they are fully submerged and coated. Remove onions from the bowl, gently shaking off excess liquidd, then place back into to the ziploc bag with panko bread crumbs and give the bag a good shake to ensure the onions are fully coated. Repeat this process until all the onions are coated.
In a pot on medium high heat, add oil. Once it reaches 365 degrees, add onion strings and fry until golden brown and crispy, about 5-7 minutes.
Set on a cooling rackor paper-towel lined plate. Repeat until all the onions are fried.
Sandwiches
Once mushrooms are done baking, transfer them to a non-stick pan on medium heat and cook with BBQ sauce until the BBQ sauce starts to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve on toasted sesame buns with coleslaw, crispy onion strings, and additional BBQ sauce. ENJOY!
Recipe by Eat Figs, Not Pigs at https://www.eatfigsnotpigs.com/the-best-vegan-pulled-pork-sandwich/