When chatting with one of our local pickup customers recently, I was introduced to the idea of maitake "wings" and couldn't get it out of my head. There aren't too many recipes that I was able to find for them, so I tested a few and combined them into what I think is the best version. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 pound of maitake
Oil for frying, vegetable or canola
Wet Batter Ingredients:
3/4-1 cup water
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Play of Sunlight Umami Seasoning
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
Dry Batter Ingredients:
1/2 cup breadcrumbs, panko preferably
1/4 cup AP Flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Play of Sunlight Umami Seasoning
Buffalo Sauce Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
2 tbsp honey
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Shred the maitake into chicken wing sized chunks, and spread them out evenly on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and a little bit of salt. Roast for ten minutes, and then cool for five. Optionally, you can coat the maitake with more paprika, garlic powder, and umami seasoning for an extra layer of flavor.
2. Add all the dry batter ingredients to a bowl and whisk together.
3. Whisk together all the dry ingredients for the wet batter. When there are no clumps, at in the 3/4 cup of water. If the batter is looking too thick, add in the last 1/4 cup of water.
4. Add the oil to a heavy bottomed pot such as a dutch oven. Heat to 350 degrees.
5. Coat the mushrooms in the wet batter and then dredge in the dry batter.
6. Add into the heated oil, 4 or 5 "wings" at a time. Cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Using a spider or a slotted spoon, take out the fried wings and set them on a wire rack over a sheet pan to drain away the excess oil.
8. Make the buffalo sauce by melting the butter in a small sauce pan and whisking in the hot sauce and honey. Adjust for taste.
9. Coat the wings with buffalo sauce and serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
