The Mushroom That Makes A Perfect Substitute For Fried White Fish

Mushrooms are multi-taskers. They bulk up sauces and starters, parties, and pasta nights. For an easy chili ingredient swap, you can drop them in your pot for a vegetarian version, or grill them for juicy plant-based burgers. Some chefs are using bunches of enoki mushrooms to fry up vegan fish and chips. For the meat-eaters and fish-ephiles out there, this isn't to say they taste exactly like the varieties of white fish you'd typically use for frying. However, they're mild in flavor and chewy and texture, and bravely hold up when battered and fried.

Classic fish and chips are Britain's defining street food. Usually the dish is crafted from cod or haddock coated in a crispy batter and paired with sliced fluffy fried potatoes (french fries, for American readers). Eliminating the fish from fish and chips might sound a little fishy, but fried clusters of the spindly, tender enoki mushrooms result in a shape reminiscent of a hearty fried filet, and their unimposing taste takes on flavors and spices swimmingly.

Enoki mushrooms, or flammulina filiformis, are edible mushrooms with roots in eighth century China. The mushroom soon made its way to Japan, and remains prevalent in Japanese cuisine. With their long thin stems dotted by small pale caps, enoki mushrooms are a popular ingredient for ramen, hotpot, and stir fry. The mushroom resembles a long strand of pasta and pairs well with noodles and other mushroom varieties.

Enoki mushrooms' fragile stems are almost reminiscent of a soft, flaky fish. They fry quickly, and become sturdy and perfectly crunchy after a dip in oil. One way to make enoki "fish" and chips is to dunk the hearty bundles of enoki in a basic frying batter with flour and other ingredients. You can then fry the coated mushrooms until they boast the trademark golden fried coat. Of course, no fish (or mushroom) fry is complete without crispy french fries and a side of the best tartar sauce.