If there is one thing, we love in the babe street kitchen, it’s fried chicken. My mate makes the best air fried, fried chicken ever, it is so good but, also, really annoying that it’s that good. It’s my biggest weakness, and I find it so hard to resist. So I set myself a mission to make something just as good! And hunni, I think I NAILED IT! These air fried oyster mushrooms are legit amazing and taste just as good as fried chicken! well if you ask me, they do (I’m not biased). Move over KFC, there’s a new hunni in town.
Why make oyster mushroom fired ‘chicken’
I don’t usually like calling nonmeat things meat things because, well, it’s not meat. I ain’t trying to fool anyone. However, trust me when I say this oyster mushroom fried chicken is close to the real thing. It’s amazing how the texture is very similar to the real KFC. Even the biggest fried chicken fan will love these! I’m confident.
Why should I give this vegan alternative to fried chicken a go, you ask? Well, we know that reducing our meat is better for us and the planet, so what’s the harm in switching your beloved fried chicken for fried oyster mushrooms now and again? Trust me when I say you won’t regret it.
Two secret ingredients make these air fried oyster mushroom so spectacular and, that’s black tea and corn flakes. Trust me hunni, it may sound odd but, it’s oh so fabulous.
How to make vegan air-fried oyster mushrooms.
The first step to making these fried oyster mushrooms is to soak your mushrooms in tea. Yes, you read that right, soak them overnight in black tea and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP, it’s life-changing! I have made these both with and without soaking and, soaking, always triumphs. It may seem annoying, but by doing so the mushrooms become juicier and have a more chicken-like texture when air frying. I found when not soaking the mushrooms, they would be a little tough.
It’s best to soak your mushrooms overnight however, anything over 4 hours will suffice.
For these mushrooms, I use the double-dip method. Dip in batter first, and then dip in your dry mix.
To make the batter, you will need coconut milk, tea from the soak, flour, and corn starch.
milk and black tea 
add in all your spices
Season the batter with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. The hot sauce really gives it a kick up a notch (see what I did there, lame I know but cum’on how could I not) If you’re like my sister and like all your food super mellow omit the hot sauce.
In a separate bowl make your dry mix. For the dry mix, you’ll need corn flakes smashed but make sure not to turn them into powder you want them to be tiny little pieces of corn flakes, so you get the best crunch. Flour, Italian herbs, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
corn flakes and flour 
add in your spices
Dip your oyster mushrooms in the batter first let any extra drip off before dipping in the dry mix. Place on a plate whilst you complete each individual piece.
Dip the oysters in the batter 
let the excess drip off 
roll the oyster mushroom in the dry mix 
let any excesss drip off the whole mushroom should be coated
Depending on how big your air fryer is you may need to fry your oyster mushrooms in multiple batches. I do use a fair bit of oil drizzled over them when air frying these so that they get that mouth-watering crunch we all love about KFC. Cook your oyster mushrooms at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
ready to be air fried 
before air frying
The air fried oyster mushrooms should come out tender on the inside and crispy on the outside just like KFC brah!
Outside nice and crispy 
inside nice and tender
FAQ’s
Can I use other mushrooms than oyster mushrooms?
From my experience, oyster mushrooms work best as the large flatheads have the best texture for the KFC vibe that we’re going for with this fried oyster mushroom recipe. If you were able to get oyster mushrooms, then the next best thing would be king oyster mushrooms thinly sliced like ‘chicken tenders’
Do I really need to soak the mushrooms in tea?
Ok, you don’t need to but trust me when I say you’ll thank yourself if you do. It really does make the world of difference to the texture. Oddly enough it’s very similar to how you would soak chicken to make them juicier. Soaking them in tea also helps the batter to cling to the mushroom
I don’t have an air fryer can I deep fry them?
Yes, you can deep fry these in a pan or fryer. I always use the air fryer because I love it and it’s so much easier than frying them, but you can if you need to.
I am gluten-free; can I substitute flour for GF flour?
Yes, I have made these with GF flour instead of flour and they taste just the same as if using AP flour.
What to do with leftovers?
I highly doubt you will have leftovers of these, however if you do no worries hunni.
Let fried mushrooms cool completely and place in an airtight container in the fridge. To heat up, you can rewarm in the air fryer at 180 degrees for 5 minutes.
Leftovers make a dope fried mushroom sandwich. I’ve had my fair share while testing this recipe.
I have not tried freezing these so I’m not sure how they would turn out after being frozen.
These air fried oyster mushrooms are the perfect alternative fried chicken that even the biggest KFC lover will enjoy. Best served with beer and mates.
I’d love to hear how they turned out if you made them, I hope you love them as much as me and give the chicken a swap every once and a while.
Give it a crack and most of all keep on cooking and grooving good looking.
Love char x
Air fried oyster mushrooms
These air fried oyster mushrooms are the best vegan KFC subsitute. There finger licking good.
- air fryer
Overnight soaking
- 10-12 oyster mushrooms
- 2 cups Black tea
- 1 tsp white sugar
Wet batter
- ½ cup coconut milk (tin cococnut milk)
- ¼ cup black tea from the overnight soak
- ½ cup AP flour
- ¼ cup corn flour
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- Salt & Pepper
Dry Mix
- 2½ cup corn flakes (lighlty smashed)
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 tbsp italian herbs
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper
Place your oyster mushrooms in a container and top with 2 cups of cold black tea and 1 tsp of sugar seal with a lid and let soak in the fridge over night. You can aslo do this the morning you plan to eat them for dinner.
Take your oyster out of the tea let them sit on a plate while you make the batter and crumb.In one bowl make your wet batter, combine the coconut milk, black tea, flour, corn flour, herbs and spices.
In another bowl combine your dry ingrdients. Smash your corn flakes but don't turn them into powder you want them to be small flakes.
First dip your oyster mushroom in the batter let and excess drip off and then roll in the dry mix. place on a plate while you repeat for the remaining oyster mushrooms.
Oil the base of your air fryer tray and then place your oyster mushrooms on the tray. try to avoid them from touching each other you may need to do multiple batches. Drizzle the mushrooms with lots of olive oil and then cook for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
Serve with a spciy yogurt dipping sauce, mix together coconut yoghurt. Best served with a nice cold beer.
- If you’re not able to soak your mushrooms overnight anything over 4 hours will be good.
- To make these gluten-free switch AP flour for GF flour and make sure your corn flakes are gluten-free.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Re-heat in the air fryer at 180 degrees for 5 minutes.
