Vegan Dinner Recipe for Pan Fried Lions Mane Mushroom

We visited Edinburgh this winter and one afternoon stopped for lunch at a restaurant recommended to us. It’s called Makars Mash Bar, and their speciality is gourmet ‘bangers and mash’ (sausages and mashed potatoes). They also grow on-site their very own mushrooms, including lion’s mane. The bangers and mash are incredible, unfortunately on this occasion, the lion’s mane had not been harvested, but we were so inspired by one of their menu items, we have decided to create our own vegan dinner recipe for pan fried lions mane mushroom.

While there are plenty of different ways to cook lions mane mushrooms, we decided we wanted to create lions mane ‘steak tips’, pan fried almost to the point that they caramelize, and then briefly marinated in some aromatic garlic and umami-flavoured soy sauce for a rich ‘meaty’ taste. Having never bought any lion’s mane in the UK before though, we quickly found out two things: they’re illegal to pick in the wild (not that we were planning on heading to the forest), and you cannot buy them in any of the big name grocery stores.

So where can you buy lion’s mane mushrooms from? The most convenient way is to find a speciality grower online and order them directly to your door. We purchased ours from Marches Mushrooms, their farm sits on the border between Wales and England and is owned by a dedicated mushroom-growing couple. They “pride themselves on selling the cleanest, freshest mushrooms that money can buy, and producing very little waste”. And that is exactly what we received, just look at the photos!

To accompany our pan-fried lion’s mane mushrooms we’ve gone for a rich rosemary and garlic red wine jus with a side of wholegrain mustard mashed potatoes. Due to their dryness and woody flavours, we recommend using a cabernet sauvignon or a merlot for the red wine jus. You can read our vegan drinks guide to help you identify a vegan red wine (if you can’t find one with a vegan label that is). And for the mashed potatoes, you want to avoid anything waxy. Go with a Maris Piper or a King Edward potato, although we have had the smoothest, creamiest results using Maris Pipers.

You don’t have to go with our chosen side though, there are so many tasty veggie options to choose from that would pair perfectly. How about some char grilled greens or even some roasted dutch carrots?

A note on the vegan meat-flavoured stock we’ve used as well, this is a UK-based brand, it’s called Oxo and they sell a meat-free beef-flavoured variety of stock cubes. In the USA there is a brand called Better Than Bouillon that produces a vegan “No Beef Base” too. We know because it’s what we used to use when we lived out there.

Finally, when it comes to the order of cooking (after food prep) we started by boiling the water for the potatoes, then fried the garlic base for the jus, and as soon as the wine and stock were in the pan reducing we began to boil the potatoes for mashing. During these 20 minutes, you can fry the mushrooms, leave the jus to stay warm in the pan, and then mash the potatoes and serve warm.

Pan Fried Lions Mane Steak Tips Ingredients

200g lion’s mane mushrooms

2 Tbsp vegan butter

2 Tbsp Dark Soy sauce

1 tsp garlic cloves minced

Parsley chopped to garnish

Freshly ground salt to season

Red Wine Jus Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp garlic cloves minced

1 tsp cornstarch

1 cup vegan red wine

1 cup meat-free beef flavour stock

1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

2 Tbsp vegan butter

1 rosemary sprig

Freshly ground salt and pepper to season

Mustard Mashed Potato Ingredients

1/2 kg King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes

Fine salt to season water

50 g vegan butter

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

How to make Mustard Mashed Potatoes

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into cubes. Then over high heat, place a saucepan large enough for the potatoes and enough water to cover them.
2. Season the water with a sprinkle of salt and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down slightly, closer to medium heat and let the water continue to bubble, cooking the potatoes for around 20 minutes. Don’t let the water level drop too low, no potatoes should be exposed. You can check to see if they’re ready by poking one with a sharp knife. If the potato just falls straight off the knife then it’s soft and they’re ready, whereas if they’re still slightly raw on the inside it will hold onto the knife and need a bit longer.
3. Using a colander, drain the potatoes from the pan and let them steam dry in the colander for just a couple of minutes.
4. Return the potatoes to the pan you boiled them in, and then add the butter and wholegrain mustard.
5. Set the pan over a very low heat, then with a potato masher, mash your potatoes until they’re smooth. The low heat will help to steam out some more moisture giving a fluffier texture to your mustard mash. Once mashed smooth you can turn off the heat, and sit the lid or a plate on top to keep them warm until you’re ready to serve up.

How to make Lion’s Mane Steak Tips

1. Start by cleaning the mushrooms. You should not get them wet, so do not clean them under running water or submerge them. Simply wipe any dirt off of the stalks with a damp paper towel, but only if you need to. Preferably just use a brush to lightly remove dirt from stalks and only use a brush to clean the “lion’s mane”. If you were to get your delicious mushrooms wet they would soak up all that moisture like a sponge and they would remain soggy as they cooked, just not yielding the texture we’re aiming for, and making it harder to retain the flavours they’re being cooked in.
2. To turn your cleaned lion’s mane mushrooms into raw “steak” tips you should cut them into thick slices, cutting lengthways so that they are about 1 cm thick. If any ends of the stalks seem tough then you can chop these off and discard them. Lion’s mane mushrooms can come in all shapes and sizes, you’re going for steak strips when cutting them so if what you have after slicing them into 1cm sections is mushroom disks, then you can cut them lengthways again, but this time into the strips we want.
3. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the vegan butter over medium-high heat until it has melted. Now add your sliced mushrooms to the pan, roll them around in the butter at first then spread them out. Just as we do in our Simple Breakfast for Mushroom Lovers Recipe you should leave the mushrooms to fry for at least 5 minutes, without turning or moving them. You want them to have browned, almost caramelized before turning them over. You can check one or two pieces close to the 5-minute time by lifting them with a pair of tongs. Once browned, turn all of your simmering mushroom steak tips over and fry the opposite side until you’ve achieved the same golden brown colour again.
4. Now you can add the soy sauce and minced garlic to the frying pan as well. Fry everything for another minute while rolling the mushrooms around the pan allowing them to absorb the soy sauce, and take on the aromatic flavours of the minced garlic. Then season with some freshly ground salt and take them off the heat once all of the soy sauce has been absorbed and the garlic has lightly browned as well.
5. Finally, serve your delicious lion’s mane steak tips garnished with fresh chopped parsley.

How to make a Red Wine Jus

1. In a medium non-stick saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the minced garlic. Stir it around in the middle of the pan in oil for about 30 seconds, just enough time that it barely starts to brown. Then while still stirring, tip the cornstarch onto the garlic so that it becomes coated with the cornstarch (for no more than another 30 seconds). The cornstarch will help the jus thicken slightly, and although we aren’t making a gravy, adding it to the garlic is the best way as it will still avoid the cornstarch forming any lumps, which it could if you were to just add it to the stock.
2. Pour into the saucepan the meat-free beef flavour stock, the soy sauce and the vegan red wine you chose (remember we recommended a merlot or a cabernet sauvignon). Stir the wine, stock, soy sauce and cornstarch-coated garlic together and then add a sprig of rosemary to the mixture. Let your jus simmer until it reduces by half, which will take 7-8 minutes.
3. With about a minute to go add the vegan butter, and salt and pepper to season and stir.
4. Remove the rosemary sprig and serve warm with the lion’s mane mushroom steak tips, or leave on the stove until you’re ready to serve (just make sure the heat is either very low or off).

VEGAN DINNER RECIPE FOR PAN FRIED LIONS MANE MUSHROOM

A flavour-packed vegan dinner recipe for pan fried lions mane mushroom, served with a rich garlic and rosemary red wine jus and creamy mustard mashed potatoes.

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Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 26 minutes mins

Total Time 33 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine British

Servings 2 people

Equipment

• 1 Saucepan
• 1 Non-stick saucepan
• 1 Large non-stick saucepan

Ingredients

  

PAN FRIED LIONS MANE STEAK TIPS INGREDIENTS

• 200 g lion’s mane mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp vegan butter
• 2 Tbsp Dark Soy sauce
• 1 tsp garlic cloves minced
• Parsley chopped to garnish
• Freshly ground salt to season

RED WINE JUS INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp garlic cloves minced
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 cup vegan red wine
• 1 cup meat-free beef flavour stock
• 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp vegan butter
• 1 rosemary sprig
• Freshly ground salt and pepper to season

MUSTARD MASHED POTATO INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 kg King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes
• Fine salt to season water
• 50 g vegan butter
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

Instructions

 

• HOW TO MAKE MUSTARD MASHED POTATOES
• Peel and chop the potatoes into cubes. Then over high heat, place a saucepan large enough for the potatoes and enough water to cover them.
• Season the water with a sprinkle of salt and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down slightly, closer to medium heat and let the water continue to bubble, cooking the potatoes for around 20 minutes.
• Using a colander, drain the potatoes from the pan and let them steam dry in the colander for just a couple of minutes.
• Return the potatoes to the pan you boiled them in, and then add the butter and wholegrain mustard.
• Set the pan over a very low heat, then with a potato masher, mash your potatoes until they’re smooth. Once mashed smooth you can turn off the heat, and sit the lid or a plate on top to keep them warm until you’re ready to serve up.
• HOW TO MAKE LION’S MANE STEAK TIPS
• Start by cleaning the mushrooms. You should not get them wet, so do not clean them under running water or submerge them. Simply wipe any dirt off of the stalks with a damp paper towel, but only if you need to. Preferably just use a brush to lightly remove dirt from stalks and only use a brush to clean the “lion’s mane”.
• To turn your cleaned lion’s mane mushrooms into raw “steak” tips you should cut them into thick slices, cutting lengthways so that they are about 1 cm thick. If any ends of the stalks seem tough then you can chop these off and discard them. Lion’s mane mushrooms can come in all shapes and sizes, you’re going for steak strips when cutting them so if what you have after slicing them into 1cm sections is mushroom disks, then you can cut them lengthways again, but this time into the strips we want.
• In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the vegan butter over medium-high heat until it has melted. Now add your sliced mushrooms to the pan, roll them around in the butter at first then spread them out. Leave the mushrooms to fry for at least 5 minutes, without turning or moving them. You want them to have browned, almost caramelized before turning them over. Once browned, turn all of your simmering mushroom steak tips over and fry the opposite side until you’ve achieved the same golden brown colour again.
• Now you can add the soy sauce and minced garlic to the frying pan as well. Fry everything for another minute while rolling the mushrooms around the pan. Then season with some freshly ground salt and take them off the heat once all of the soy sauce has been absorbed and the garlic has lightly browned as well.
• Finally, serve your delicious lion’s mane steak tips garnished with fresh chopped parsley.
• HOW TO MAKE A RED WINE JUS
• In a medium non-stick saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the minced garlic. Stir it around in the middle of the pan in oil for about 30 seconds, just enough time that it barely starts to brown. Then while still stirring, tip the cornstarch onto the garlic so that it becomes coated with the cornstarch (for no more than another 30 seconds).
• Pour into the saucepan the meat-free beef flavour stock, the soy sauce and the vegan red wine you chose. Stir the wine, stock, soy sauce and cornstarch-coated garlic together and then add a sprig of rosemary to the mixture. Let your jus simmer until it reduces by half, which will take 7-8 minutes.
• With about a minute to go add the vegan butter, and salt and pepper to season and stir.
• Remove the rosemary sprig and serve warm with the lion’s mane mushroom steak tips, or leave on the stove until you’re ready to serve (just make sure the heat is either very low or off).

Keyword garlic, jus, lions mane, mushrooms, mustard, potatoes, red wine, rosemary, soy sauce