Vegan "The Next Best Thing to Real Bacon" Mushroom Bacon [Vegan]
I made this for the first time as a topping for a roasted cauliflower soup and spent the rest of the meal annoyed that the soup was getting in the way of my fake bacon bits. I solved that problem by making a big batch of it to have on toast and it was heavenly. The secret is liquid smoke (and a lot of vegan butter...) along with the surprisingly meaty texture of oyster mushrooms. Enjoy this on toast, soups, in sandwiches, in a tofu scramble, on pizza... yeah, pretty much anywhere.
Mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, salt and pepper, and liquid smoke in a small bowl, whisk well and set aside.
Slice the mushrooms thinly. I pulled off the “leaves” and then sliced up the stem. Pour the liquid over the sliced mushrooms and stir to make sure all mushrooms are covered.
While they are soaking, heat up the margarine in a fry pan and when it’s just starting to bubble add the mushrooms and let them get a deep brown color, about 4-5 min per side.
Enjoy on toast, in a tofu scramble, in a sandwich, in soup... pretty much anywhere!