How to Make Delicious Vegan Shrimp at Home

Vegan shrimp is a tasty meatless alternative that can satisfy your seafood cravings without harming any animals. With the right ingredients and techniques you can create vegan shrimp with a remarkably similar texture and flavor to the real thing. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll explain everything you need to know about making your own plant-based shrimp at home.

Why Make Vegan Shrimp?

There are several great reasons to try your hand at vegan shrimp recipes:

• It allows vegetarians, vegans, and those with shellfish allergies to enjoy shrimp-like textures and flavors.

• Homemade vegan shrimp is cheaper and more convenient than buying mock shrimp

• You can control the quality of ingredients and avoid preservatives or other additives,

• It’s a fun, creative way to explore new ingredients and cooking techniques.

• Shrimp dishes like scampi, fried shrimp, and shrimp cocktails can be made vegan-friendly.

• You’ll impress friends and family with your culinary skills.

So if you’re craving shrimp but want to avoid seafood for ethical, health or other reasons, read on for how to recreate that taste and texture with plant products.

Vegan Shrimp Ingredients

The key to mimicking the briny taste and bouncy but firm texture of shrimp is choosing the right main ingredient and seasonings. Here are the essential components:

King oyster mushrooms – The thick, meaty stems of these mushrooms perfectly mimic the texture of shrimp when sliced. Other mushrooms can work but king oyster is ideal.

Kelp and seaweed – Kelp flakes, nori sheets or seaweed powder provide essential umami and sea flavors.

Old Bay seasoning – This classic seafood blend contains spices like celery salt, paprika, and mustard seed to infuse that shrimp taste.

Salt – A touch of salt enhances the natural brininess of kelp and seaweed.

Cornstarch – Lightly coating the mushrooms in cornstarch before breading helps provide an extra crispy texture.

Flour – For binding the breadcrumb coating to the vegan shrimp.

Breadcrumbs – Panko breadcrumbs provide ideal crunch and flaky texture when fried or baked.

Oil for frying – Use a high heat oil like vegetable, peanut or sunflower oil.

Lemon and garlic – These optional flavor boosters brighten up sauteed or fried vegan shrimp.

How to Prepare King Oyster Mushrooms

The key to the best texture is to remove the tops and bottoms of the mushrooms before slicing:

• Cut off the small brown caps on the tops. They have an undesirable strong taste.

• Trim the very bottom of the stems which tend to be too hard and lose the bouncy shrimp-like consistency.

• Slice the remaining long white stems into 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch rounds.

• Make a curved shrimp shape by cutting a shallow arc shape into the rounds.

This specially prepared mushroom shrimp can now be seasoned and coated.

Vegan Shrimp Marinade

Before breading, the sliced mushrooms should be marinated for at least 20 minutes to soak up shrimp-like flavors:

• In a small pot, whisk together water, kelp/seaweed, Old Bay seasoning and salt.

• Heat just until boiling then remove from heat.

• Pour over sliced mushroom pieces in a shallow dish.

• Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes, tossing occasionally.

• Drain excess liquid before breading.

This easy marinade infuses the vegan shrimp with briny, robust seafood tastes.

Breading Vegan Shrimp

To achieve a crispy breaded coating, set up a breading station:

• Place cornstarch in one shallow bowl.

• Prepare breadcrumb mixture by combining panko, Old Bay and optional paprika for color.

• Set up separate bowl with flour thinned with a bit of plant milk to form a thick batter.

Then bread the marinated mushrooms:

• Dredge pieces in cornstarch, shaking off excess.

• Dip into batter, allowing excess to drip off.

• Finally press into breadcrumbs, generously coating all sides.

Repeat until all pieces are breaded. For best results, use one hand for wet ingredients and the other for dry.

How to Cook Vegan Shrimp

You can choose to pan-fry or bake your breaded vegan shrimp:

Pan-frying yields the crispiest, restaurant-style texture:

• Heat 1⁄4 inch of vegetable oil in skillet over medium high heat.

• Fry breaded shrimp pieces for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown.

• Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Baking is lower fat but still tasty:

• Place breaded shrimp on a lightly greased baking sheet.

• Bake at 400oF for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

I recommend frying for the crispiest results, but baking does cut down on oil.

Serving Suggestions

Your homemade vegan shrimp is now ready to eat! Here are some tasty ways to serve them:

• Pile crispy fried vegan shrimp into a basket with fries. Offer lemon wedges and vegan cocktail or tartar sauce for dipping.

• Saute with olive oil, garlic, white wine and parsley over pasta for vegan shrimp scampi.

• Toss into salads, fajitas, stir fries, soups or fried rice dishes.

• Make vegan shrimp cocktails with chilled shrimp and a homemade spicy sauce.

However you choose to use your DIY vegan shrimp, they add a flavorful plant-based twist to any meal!

Tips for the Best Homemade Shrimp

With a few simple tricks, you can achieve perfect vegan shrimp every time:

• When pan-frying, use medium heat to prevent burning or charring the coating.

• Allow marinade time for the mushrooms to soak up maximum flavor.

• For convenience, bread crumbs and batter can be prepared a day ahead.

• Minced garlic and lemon brighten up the flavor when sauteeing.

• Store cooled leftovers in the fridge and reheat by pan frying or baking.

• Double or triple the recipe and freeze extra uncooked vegan shrimp for later use.

Store Bought Options

If you don’t have time to make DIY vegan shrimp, there are some convenient store-bought options:

• Loving Hut makes realistic, pre-cooked vegan shrimp you just heat and serve. Find them in the freezer section of Asian grocers.

• Other brands like Sophie’s Kitchen, New Wave Foods and Good Catch make frozen options.

• Check health food stores or order online if you can’t find them locally.

When preparing store-bought brands, I recommend pan-frying in oil and garlic for the best flavor and texture. Follow package instructions for thawing.

Satisfy Your Cravings with Vegan Shrimp