vegan and free of gluten and top 8 allergens
There’s meat jun and fish jun. Well, why not mushroom jun!
Introduced by a local Korean restaurant in Kaneohe, Hawaii, meat jun has become popular Hawaiian comfort food. Thin strips of marinated beef are dredged in flour and egg, and pan fried. It’s sort of Hawaiian, and it’s sort of Korean.
When we got the most amazing grey oyster mushrooms from Las Vegas Mushrooms, we immediately wanted to create a mushroom jun, vegan and free from gluten and the top 8 allergens.
We miss the fusion of ethnic culinary influences that is part of Hawaii’s cuisine. Joel reminisces often about his neighborhood Soon’s Kal-Bi Drive In. He says the secret is the sauce. We share with you one of our new favorites!
mise en place
The Mushrooms
We tried the 3 different mushrooms pictured below. On the top left, are the lion’s mane. Then we have the portobello, followed by the grey oyster on the bottom. These grey oysters have huge caps with very short stems.
We love portobellos. However, they are not the best mushroom for this dish. They don’t press as thin as lion’s mane and grey oyster. And it’s important that the mushrooms are very thin, about 1/4-inch thick. Cut lion’s mane mushrooms into 1-inch steaks before cooking and pressing, as they are usually globe-shaped.
Steps
- Make a marinade (coconut aminos, water, sugar, and garlic)
- Make a dipping sauce (coconut aminos, sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, grated ginger, pepper, and sriracha)
- Trim, cook and press the mushrooms for about 2 minutes on each side in a large skillet, with a smaller heavy pot or cast-iron pan placed on top.
- Cooked and pressed mushrooms are placed in marinade for 15 minutes.
- Mushrooms are dredged in gluten-free flour blend, then in Just Eggs (or eggs, if egg is not an issue). They are then cooked until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes on each side.
Mushroom jun is aloha with love!
Mushroom Jun
Yield 4 servings
Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.
Mushroom jun fun!
Ingredients
Marinade
1/2 cup coconut aminos
6 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons organic granulated cane sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup coconut aminos or allergy-friendly soy sauce (such as Ocean's Halo organic, gluten-free and soy-free sauce)
1 tablespoon organic granulated cane sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sriracha, or to taste
Mushroom Jun
1 pound grey oyster mushrooms, caps only (about 8 caps)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided and as needed
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
1/2 cup Just Egg
1-2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions, garnish
Instructions
- For the marinade, in a small bowl, combine coconut aminos, water, sugar, and garlic. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
- For the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, combine the coconut aminos, sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, pepper, and sriracha. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside in refrigerator.
- For the mushroom jun, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Combine the onion and garlic powders. When oil is hot, add 4 mushroom caps, gill sides up. Sprinkle mushrooms with half of the onion and garlic powder mixture. Press the mushrooms with a smaller heavy pot or cast-iron pan, applying pressure to flatten the mushroom caps. After 2 minutes, remove the top pan and flip mushrooms over. Cook mushrooms for another 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and repeat with remaining mushrooms.
- Place mushroom caps in marinade for 15 minutes, turning occasionally to cover both sides.
- Place flour in a wide shallow bowl. In another wide shallow bowl, add Just Egg and whisk in about 2-3 teaspoons of water to thin eggs.
- In the same nonstick skillet over medium heat, add 1-2 teaspoons oil. Remove a mushroom from the marinade and dip in flour making sure to cover each mushroom well. Gently shake off any excess flour, then dip in eggs making sure to coat well. Cook immediately until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Continue with all the mushroom caps, adding a little oil as needed. Transfer to a plate. Slice mushrooms into strips about 1-inch wide.
- Garnish with green onions, if desired. Serve with dipping sauce on the side. Add kimchi and rice to make dinner a Korean favorite!
Notes
- If soy is not an issue, coconut aminos can be replaced with equal amount of soy sauce.
- If egg is not an issue, substitute 2 large eggs for Just Egg, lightly whisking eggs with a fork.
Courses Mains
Wow – As usual – Looks amazing cant wait to try it !