Yes, I love pulled pork. No I am not ashamed. But in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint I am trying to eat vegetarian or vegan meals at once a day for lunch or dinner. Breakfast is always vegetarian or vegan on week days, so I’m trying to make an additional effort to reduce how much meat I eat.

I’m not giving up meat, but by simply cutting down how much meat and seafood I eat, I am reducing the demand slightly and therefore reducing the need for larger cattle farms and for over-fishing. If we all tried to reduce our meat consumption by just one meal a week, it would make a huge difference.

And when we do eat meat, it is really great to eat nose-to-tail. Use offal in your cooking, go for the less popular cuts of meat, and make sure your butcher is ethical and organic.

But anyway, back to this vegan dish.

I’ve been overwhelmed with how diverse king oyster mushrooms can be, thanks in large part to Wicked Healthy and the Sarno brothers.

I saw on Derek Sarno’s instagram that he had made pulled mushrooms, but he did not post a recipe for them. So I did what I do best – I guessed based on previous knowledge of how to cook pulled pork. Except this time, I knew the mushrooms wouldn’t need long in the oven at all.

A special mention goes out to SVB/Queen B’s Cupcakes for letting me use her flat for the final photo shoot (thanks to all that beautiful natural light) as well as being my hand model for the final photo!

Ingredients

200 grams king oyster mushrooms
BBQ spice mix (such as this one)
2 tbsp olive oil
BBQ sauce (such as this one)
Ciabatta rolls

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Using two forks (or your fingers) shred the oyster mushrooms into strips. Set on a foil-lined baking tray.
3. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle 1 tbsp of the BBQ spice mix over the mushrooms. Rub into the mushrooms until everything is covered.
4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the edges are starting to crisp and brown up.
5. Once done, remove the mushrooms from the oven.
6. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce and stir around until all of the mushrooms are coated. Cook for a further 3 – 5 minutes.
7. Serve warm in a ciabatta roll with coleslaw, or however you like your pulled pork (in tacos, on nachos, you name it).