Wow I can't believe a week has passed since I posted the last recipe! In my defense, I recently moved from France to Netherlands to start a vegan food related project (more about that soon), so that's quite a big change!
Now that I'm all settled in I should be able to post more regularly, and maybe veganize some dutch recipes in the future! I'm still waiting for my photography backgrounds to arrive though, so in the meantime let's use window ledges...
This recipe is an easy one, no food processor or blender required, but it requires some preparation.
Now let's talk about food, these bowls have sautéed king oyster mushrooms, spicy peanut tofu, steamed baby bok choy and soba noodles flavored with a drizzle of sesame oil and chives.
I was pleasantly surprised by the texture of king oysters, it really minds me the texture of scallops, with a "meaty" texture. Be aware they take a long time to cook though, something like 8-10 minutes in a skillet. You can usually find king oyster mushrooms at asian or oriental supermarkets.
King oyster are first marinated in water flavored with seaweed flakes, soy sauce and lemon juice to give them a light "sea" flavor. After about 15 minutes they are sautéed in a skillet until soft and browned on each side. I recommend keeping the marinade and drizzle it on the mushrooms after cooking to add even more taste.
Tofu is also marinated in a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup and peanut butter. Plus sriracha to add some heat.
For the greens and grains I went with baby bok choy and buckwheat noodles, feel free to use what you have on hand, like spinach or kale, and quinoa or brown rice, it's up to you. These bowls are super flavorful and if you have never tried king oyster I can only suggest you do, you won't be disappointed!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe and tag #fullofplants if you take a photo!
📖 Recipe
King Oyster Scallop Bowls
Ingredients
King Oyster Scallops
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoon seaweed flakes
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 king oyster mushrooms brown tops removed
Spicy Peanut Tofu
- 7 ounces extra firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil or other oil
- ½ teaspoon sriracha
Toppings
- 5 ounces soba noodles can be replaced with brown rice, quinoa, etc
- 2 bunches of baby bok choy or spinach, or kale
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- salt pepper to taste
- chive chopped (optional)
Instructions
- The easiest way to have everything ready and still warm when serving is to let the the king oyster mushrooms and tofu marinade while you prepare the greens and grains. Then cook the mushrooms and tofu just before serving.
King Oyster Scallops
- Combine the water, seaweed flakes and soy sauce in a small saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, remove from heat and let cool 10-15 minutes before stirring in the lemon juice. Discard the seaweed and set aside.
- Rinse the king oyster mushrooms and dry them well with a paper towel. Slice each into 3-4 large pieces, and add them to the saucepan. Let the mushrooms marinate for 20-30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the tofu marinade.
- Drain the king oyster but keep the marinade, we will use it later to drizzle the cooked mushrooms for added flavor.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the king oyster mushrooms and cook each side for 4-5 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Peanut Tofu
- In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil and sriracha.
- Drain the tofu well. Line a plate with paper towel, place the tofu on top, add another layer of paper towel and place something heavy on top, like an iron skillet for example. Press the tofu for 10-15 minutes. Cut it into cubes and add it to the marinade, stir to coat and let marinade for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu with the marinade and shallow-fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure the tofu doesn't burn or stick to the skillet.
- Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Greens and Noodles
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and drizzle with sesame oil, stir to coat.
- For the greens, you can either steam them for 5-7 minutes, or sauté with some oil in a large skillet. Once you greens are cooked, stir in the chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper.
Combine
- Divide the noodles into 3 bowls, add the baby bok choy or spinach and top with tofu and king oyster scallops. Top with chopped chives and serve immediately.
Terrific recipe. My wife and I have been vegan for about 5 years, but pan seared scallops were one of our favorite dishes, in fact scallops were the last actual meat dish my wife ever had. This dish is absolutely marvelous, I cooked it for our anniversary dinner last night. We liked it so much, I cooked it again tonight, but I tried a modification, which I humbly suggest may make it even better.
I took the left over marinade and put it in a small saucepan and let it simmer to reduce while the mushrooms were searing in the pan. As the juice dried out around the mushrooms, I would add a little of the reducing marinade to the pan and repeated until all the marinade was used up. Close to the end of cooking, I added a little crushed garlic and right at the end, a knob of Miyoko's vegan butter: fabulous.
I'm so glad to hear you liked this recipe David 🙂 Thanks for the kind words!
Your suggestion is very good and I'm definitely going to try that next time I make this dish.
I'm not vegan, but these recipes are delicious, period. Scallops are too expensive, and this 'mock scallop' recipe is an excellent replacement. Using seaweed-based marinade really improves mushrooms, and not just for this recipe.
Thanks Pete!
Wow, Thomas! I just made this recipe again (added some fresh grated ginger to the tofu mix.) My husband and I agree that this is one of our most favorite recipes!
Thank you for sharing your genius with the world!
Fresh ginger sounds awesome! Its fresh and citrusy flavor is probably going very well with the scallops!
This was a great deal of fun! We had our Christmas eve dinner with your faux foie gras and these scallops. Not having seaweed flakes, I mush admit that I resorted to using two sheets of nori instead (and I realize now that I forgot to add the lemon juice after brining the marinade to boiling). But will definitely make this again! Perhaps the full meal/bowl!
Have a lovely Christmas!
That sounds like a Christmas feast!
Yes, nori sheets should work just like seaweed. Glad to hear you liked both recipes 🙂
The king oyster scallops worked really well but the tofu is the star 🙂 excellent marinade
Thanks for the feedback Steve!
I couldn't find King Oyster Mushrooms, but I was able to find King Trumpet Mushrooms. They look pretty similar, except the ones I have look a little bit smaller than the ones you have pictured here.
I'm going to make them tomorrow evening, so I'll let you know how it goes.
If you have any pointers about the difference though, I'd gladly accept them!
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Honestly, I have no idea about the difference, except the size! I would assume they taste pretty similar but I have never them.
Wow!!! I am in love with this dish. Can't wait to make it again. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to hear you liked it Tammy! Thanks for the rating!
Great recipe. No need to waist paper towel and pat dry mushrooms. You are going to put it in marinade. Worried about diluting marinade with those extra 5 drops of water? Take tbsp out of a cup! Also don't discard tops of the mushrooms! Cook them too!
Thanks for the input Anna! 🙂
Delicious! Very satisfying meal! I love the use of the mushrooms to replace scallops! 🙂
Oh, and the spicy peanut sauce is AH-mazing!
Thanks for the feedback Traci! 🙂
I have tried other recipes for King mushrooms that were so much better. It is difficult to make these taste badly, but this recipe doesn't do much for the taste at all. Three stars for the great mushrooms, no stars for the ingredients.
Sorry to hear you didn't like this recipe Tracy!
Delicious. Thank you for sharing with us!
You're welcome!
Making these mushrooms tonight. Thanks for all the good info. This was a lovely post to read...I'll be back soon to spend time here.
Best,
Judy
Thanks Judith, glad to hear you liked it!
Thank you so much for sharing this awesome menu, we really enjoyed it!!
You're welcome Brigitte, thanks for your feedback!
Hi, what kind of seaweed flakes do you recommend? I have kelp flakes and laver which I could make into flakes. Thank you for sharing this delightful-looking recipe. I will make it.
Hi,
Here I went with dulse seaweed flakes, but nori or kelp should work well!
Thanks! I made this with the kelp flakes and it was wonderful. Next time I'll try dulse! Loved this whole bowl. Added grated ginger to the peanut sauce as suggested by another commenter. Five stars! Thanks!
This was a great recipe! I didn't know what to do with my king oyster mushrooms and happened upon your website.
Thanks so much for providing a wonderful meal for the family. I used Pad Thai noodles rather than Soba because that's what was available. Just, just awesome...
You're welcome Robert!
Thanks for your feedback!
My king oysters are really large (only 2, but sliced into 16 pieces apprx 2-3cm). Perhaps an idea of weight might help the recipe. I’m making it right now, but think I’ll have to alter the recipe a little. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
You can double the marinade if using very large king oysters.
Wow!! What a feast - glorious & elegant recipe, Thomas. Lots of steps & pans but a joy to make with my mom during quarantine. Added more time to marinade both tofu & mushrooms plus air fried the tofu to watch one less pan. Braised bok choy in a miso base too. Restaurant quality dinner, even carnivore dad loved it! Can’t wait to make these “scallops” again & see them in more recipes. Hint hint!
Thanks for sharing 🙂 Haha glad your dad liked it too 🙂
Hi
This is on my list to try, but can’t eat soy
Any replacement suggestions?
Well, you could use seitan as a substitute for the tofu, and coconut aminos to replace the soy sauce.