Hunan-style crispy sweet chilli mushroom and noodle salad

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Ingredients

For the mushrooms:
500 g shimeiji mushrooms, separated
a pinch sea salt
a pinch ground white pepper
a pinch Chinese five spice
2 T potato flour or cornflour
3 T aquafaba
100 g vegan panko breadcrumbs
6 sprays low-calorie olive oil
For the sauce:
1 t canola oil
1 x 2.5 cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
4 long, dried chillies 4
1 T tamari or low-sodium light soya sauce
2 T sweet chilli sauce
1 large orange, zested and juiced
For the salad:
1 head Romaine lettuce leaves, shredded
½ cucumber, cut into half-moon slices
1 large carrot, cut into fine matchsticks
200 g ready-to-eat vermicelli rice noodles
1 T sesame seeds, toasted
spring onion curls, for serving

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lay the mushrooms on a roasting tray and season with the salt, pepper and Chinese five spice.

2. Place the flour, aquafaba and panko breadcrumbs in three separate dishes. One at a time, dip each mushroom into the flour, covering and coating well, then into the aquafaba, and finally quickly dip into the breadcrumbs. Once coated, return to the roasting tray and repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Spray the mushrooms with olive oil, then roast for 15 minutes until crispy.

3. Meanwhile, heat a wok over a high heat until smoking. Once hot, add the canola oil, then add the ginger and stir-fry for a few seconds. Next add the chillies, tamari or soya sauce, sweet chilli sauce, and orange zest and juice. Bring to the boil and reduce until thickened.

4. When the mushrooms are ready, remove them from the oven. Drizzle the sauce over the crispy mushrooms and toss to coat.

5. Serve the mushrooms on a bed of lettuce, cucumber, carrot and rice noodles. Drizzle over more of the sauce if you like. Sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds and top with spring onion curls. Serve immediately.

Cook's note: The people of the Hunan region in China are known for their love of sweet and spicy combinations. This easy dish is inspired by these strong flavour profiles. The recipe calls for aquafaba: the beige liquid found in tinned chickpeas. It acts as a thickening agent and egg substitute, making it perfect for panko-ing the mushrooms to give them a crispy texture.”

Find more noodle recipes here.

This is an extract from Asian Green by Ching-He Huang. It is published by Kyle Books and is distributed in SA by Jonathan Ball Publishers. Find it at good bookstores for R475.