This Vegan "Shrimp" Po' Boy Sandwich uses fried oyster mushrooms for a plant based alternative to a classic American sandwich. Find out more below.
Classic American Sandwiches
When you think of a classic American sandwich, what do you think of? Is is a Philly cheesesteak? Maybe a grilled cheese sandwich? Or what about a Reuben or Lobster roll? There are so many delicious sandwiches to choose from.
Today I'm sharing a recipe for one of my favourites, the Po' Boy sandwich.
The only problem is that this particular sandwich isn't usually vegan. Find out how I've adapted it for a plant based diet below.
What is a Po' Boy?
The Po' Boy sandwich originates from Louisiana. There are lots of different variations but ordinarily it would be made with, a special variety of French bread that has been filled with some type of fried protein along with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and a mix of mayonnaise and hot sauce known as remoulade.
The fried filling can be beef, pork or fried seafood like shrimp, crawfish, fish, oysters or crab. This (along with the mayonnaise) means that sadly these sandwiches can't be enjoyed by vegetarians or vegans.
How to make a Vegan Po' Boy Sandwich
The Shrimp Po' Boy is the one I know best so that's what I decided to replicate. To get a shrimp-like flavour and texture I used oyster mushrooms.
The larger of the mushrooms are cut to the size of a piece of shrimp (or a prawn for my fellow UK readers). The smaller mushrooms are left whole.
I then drunk the mushroom pieces in a mix of plant milk, apple cider vinegar and some herbs and spices. This is designed to be a bit like buttermilk and is the wet mix required to dredge the mushrooms ready for frying.
Once the mushrooms are coated in the wet mixture they are then immediately thrown into a dry mix made of of flour and spices.
As soon as the mushrooms have been dredged in the wet and dry mixes they need to be shallow fried until crisp and golden. If you're making a large batch you can cook them and keep them warm in the oven while the next lot cook in the pan.
The recipe
Vegan "Shrimp" Po' Boy Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 sub rolls
- 1 beef tomato sliced
- 1 small romaine lettuce shredded
- 1 pickle sliced
- 8-10 oyster mushrooms
For the "dry" coating
- 50 g cornflour
- 50 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 0.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the "wet" coating
- 2 tablespoon of the "dry" coating
- 250 ml plant milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
For the remoulade sauce
- 2 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon pickle juice
Instructions
- Add the oil to a frying pan and heat on a medium heat. It needs to be hot enough that when the coated mushrooms hit the fan they immediately begin to bubble up around the edges (roughly 185 C / 365 F).
- Mix together the "dry" coating and placing to one side.
- Mix together nondairy milk and apple cider vinegar along with 2 tablespoon of the "dry" coating and mix until smooth.
- Set up your work surface so you can easily dip the mushrooms from the "wet" coating, into the "dry" coating and then straight into the frying pan.
- Dip the first mushroom into the "wet" coating and ensure its coated all over. Shake off any excess then dip into the "dry" coating, again ensuring it is coated all over.
- Place the mushroom into the hot oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes before flipping and frying for another 2 to 2 minutes.
- Repeat this process adding more coated mushrooms to the pan but try not to over crowd them.
- Once the mushrooms are cooked place them on to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
- To make the remoulade sauce simply mix together the mayonnaise, hot sauce and pick juice.
- Assemble the sandwich by cutting the role length ways, spreading with a little of the remoulade, layering the tomatoes, lettuce and pickle slices, adding the fried mushrooms and finishing with another drizzle of remoulade.
Nutrition
More sandwich recipes
Below you'll find a selection of vegetarian and vegan sandwich recipes.
More lunch recipes
If you're looking for more lip-smacking lunches then check out the recipe archive.
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