Chipotle Mushroom Steak Vegan Tacos

August 14, 2020
Richard Makin
Featured Recipe

Updated: May 06, 2024

10 tacos
0.0

Super meaty, smoky and spicy – these corn tortilla vegan tacos pack a serious punch. Packed with braised oyster mushrooms and zingy red onion quick pickles to deliver the perfect balance of umami and piquancy.

Ingredients

For the Tortillas

125g masa harina
1/4 t salt
180 ml hot water

For the Pickled Onions

1 red onion
80ml water
80ml distilled vinegar
1/2 T salt
1/2 T sugar

For the Mushrooms

1 T vegetable oil
3 oyster mushroom clusters
3 t chipotle paste
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 t smoked paprika
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t garlic powder

For the Tacos

1 large tomato, diced
1 green chili, sliced (or jalapeños)
Small head of lettuce, roughly torn

Instructions

To Make the Tortilla Dough

Combine the masa harina and the salt in a medium bowl.
Pour over the hot water (just slightly cooler than boiling) and mix well with a spoon until a dough forms.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave to hydrate for 20 minutes. While the dough hydrates, make the pickled onions.

To Make the Pickled Onions

Peel and finely slice the pickled onion (don’t dice, just slice into thin shreds) and place in a small bowl or clean jar.
In a measuring jug, mix together the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar.
Pour over the onions and place them in the fridge. Leave to pickle while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

To Make the Braised Mushrooms

Place a cast-iron skillet or a large frying pan over medium heat. When the frying pan is “ripping hot” drizzle a little oil and place the mushrooms in the middle.
Cover with a heavy lid and stack a few cans on top to press the mushrooms down. Fry for a good 5 minutes.
While frying, mix together the chipotle paste, 2 vegetable oil, paprika, soy sauce, and garlic powder in a small bowl.
Remove the lid from the mushrooms and, using a pastry brush, baste the top of the mushrooms with the chipotle sauce. Flip the mushrooms so the saucy side is now against the hot pan. Spread the remaining sauce on top and return the lid. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
Once cooked, turn off the heat but leave the mushrooms in the pan, covered with the lid to stay hot while you cook the tortillas.

To Make the Tortillas

Divide the now hydrated tortilla dough into 10 balls (each weighing around 30g).
Place a dry frying pan over medium heat.
Cut the sides of a plastic sandwich bag so you’re left with two squares of plastic. Place the dough between the two pieces of plastic and place inside a tortilla press. If you don’t have a tortilla press, just roll out between the two pieces of plastic using a rolling pin.
Place the pressed tortilla onto the hot frying pan and cook for around 1 minute on each side. Don’t allow it to burn.
Remove from the frying pan and wrap first in baking parchment and then a clean tea-towel to keep it hot and to prevent it drying out.
Repeat until you have 10 tortillas.

To Serve The Tacos

Spread the tortillas on a baking tray.
Slice the braised mushrooms finely and divide between the 10 tortillas. Follow with the diced tomatoes, chili, lettuce, and pickled onions.
Serve with hot sauce and fresh lime if desired!

Notes

If you haven’t made fresh tortillas before, you’re in for a real treat. Here’s how to whip some up in a flash!

Gather Your Ingredients

For these tortillas, we’re using masa harina, which is a type of cornflour. It’s super unique in flavour and comes in two main kinds, blue corn or yellow corn (I’m using blue corn in this recipe but feel free to use whichever). You’ll also need some salt and some water. And that’s it!

Hydrate The Dough

To make the tortilla dough, you’ll need to use nearly boiling water, so boil a kettle and then leave it to cool for a few minutes. Mix it into the masa and salt then cover with plastic wrap and leave to hydrate. If you try to work with it straight away it’ll be far too wet, so don’t skip this crucial step!

Divide the Dough

Once hydrated, divide the dough into 10 balls, each weighing roughly 30g. The dough at this stage should feel springy but not sticky. If it’s sticky, wrap it in cling film again and leave it to hydrate for another 5 minutes.

Press or Roll the Tortilla

Next, you need to press the tortilla using a tortilla press. If you don’t have one, don’t worry – you can just use a rolling pin. Regardless of which method you use, you’ll need to sandwich the dough between two pieces of plastic or greaseproof paper. I like to use a plastic sandwich bag as it doesn’t crinkle and fold like greaseproof paper, plus the tortilla comes loose very easily once pressed.

Cook the Tortilla

Place a dry frying pan over medium heat. When hot, remove the tortilla from the plastic sheet and slap it gently into the centre of the frying pan. Allow cooking for about a minute, checking it hasn’t burnt underneath. Flip and repeat. When done, remove from the pan and wrap in a layer of baking parchment, then a tea towel. This will keep it warm and soft! Repeat with the remaining dough!