Sweet, spicy, crispy, sticky, and just a little bit chaotic in the best way. This Hot Cross Bun Fried Mushroom Sandwich is made with big juicy lion’s mane mushroom cutlets, coated in a crunchy seasoned crust, fried until golden, then finished with smoky chipotle mayo, pickles, and a maple butter glaze. If you love a sweet and salty combo, this one is ridiculously good.
Makes: 2 sandwiches
Ingredients
For the fried mushroom
- 2 hot cross buns
- 2 large rehydrated lion’s mane mushrooms
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g cornflour
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp MSG
- 1 tsp allspice
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Oil, for frying
- Pickles, to serve
Chipotle mayo
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tbsp chipotle sauce
- 1/2 tbsp maple syrup or agave
- A squeeze of lime
Maple butter glaze
- 30 g Nuttelex
- 35 g maple syrup
Before you start
Rehydrate 2 large lion’s mane mushrooms. Keep them in a big “steak” or cutlet shape. This way, they look a bit like a chicken fillet.
If you don’t have any dried lion’s mane mushroom, you can grab some here.
If you need help rehydrating your mushrooms, check out our guide here.
Method
1. Make the seasoned flour
In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornflour, oregano, salt, MSG, allspice, paprika, and black pepper.
2. Prep the buttermilk mixture
In a separate bowl or jug, mix the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix together so it thickens slightly and resembles buttermilk.
3. Coat the mushrooms
Lightly coat each lion’s mane cutlet in a bit of the seasoned flour first.
Then dip each one into the soy milk mixture, making sure it is well coated.
Finally, press the mushroom into the seasoned flour mixture. Press the flour firmly into all the folds. Make sure it covers the edges of the mushroom. This will create lots of craggly bits for maximum crunch.
4. Fry until crispy
Heat oil in a frying pan or pot.
You can either:
- Shallow fry the cutlets, flipping to cook both sides, or
- Deep fry them at 180°C for a few minutes
Cook until golden brown, crispy, and cooked through. Set aside on a wire rack or plate.
Make the sauces
Chipotle mayo
Mix together the mayo, chipotle sauce, maple syrup or agave, and lime juice until smooth.
Maple butter glaze
Add the Nuttelex and maple syrup to a mug or small bowl and microwave until melted and combined. You can either toss the fried mushroom in the glaze or just drizzle it over when assembling.
Assemble
Slice the hot cross buns in half.
Spread the chipotle mayo on the bun. Then add the fried mushroom cutlet. Drizzle over the maple butter glaze. Finish with pickles.
Serve immediately.
Notes
- Keeping the lion’s mane in larger pieces makes the sandwich feel more like a proper fried chicken burger.
- Pressing the flour into the mushroom is the key to getting that crispy, craggy coating.
- The hot cross bun brings a sweet, spiced flavour that works so well with the smoky mayo and sticky maple glaze.