4 Chefs Explain the Methods Behind Their Fried Mushroom Dishes

For many years now, chefs have been leaning on mushrooms as a vegetarian alternative to chicken. It's a vegetable that's chewy, full of umami, and tastes even better fried. But recently, fried mushrooms have become so much more than a vegetarian-friendly dish. With nearly an endless amount of mushrooms to choose from and battering styles to experiment with, chefs from around the country are taking the concept far beyond the classic basket of battered buttons. Here are four renditions our editors love.

Crispy Maitake at Place des Fetes (Brooklyn)

Place des Fetes’ crispy mushroom dish is so popular that chef Nico Russell has to order 50 pounds of Canadian black maitake every week just to keep up. Because mushrooms contain a lot of water, Russell first steams them and presses out all the liquid. “It gives us a really dense, compressed mushroom that is really, really meaty,” he says. The maitakes are dredged in a potato flour mixture, dunked in tempura batter spiked with high-proof alcohol, then fried until golden brown. Each mushroom is dusted with a variety of powders, like sauerkraut, yuzu kosho, and leek (depending on the season), and served with black garlic fudge made from the reserved mushroom cooking liquid.

Fried Hen of the Woods at Canlis (Seattle)

“The reason why I came up with this dish is because I’m really just sick of seeing a mushroom porridge on menus,” says 2023 F&W Best New Chef Aisha Ibrahim. She turns the dish on its head by serving a starchy, koji-packed chestnut porridge with a fried mushroom sidecar. The steamed hen of the woods mushroom is covered in rice flour then dipped in Ibrahim’s “bulletproof” tempura batter. “It took me and my partner three years to develop,” Ibrahim says. “It comes out perfect and crunchy and aerated.” To incorporate more earthy flavors, she tops off the fried hen of the woods with aromatic juniper salt.

Hongos Fritos at Este (Austin)

2021 F&W Best New Chef Fermín Nuñez’s frying formula has always been stellar, but after collaborating on a pop-up with 2023 F&W Best New Chef Ed Szymanski, it somehow got even better. “He gave me tips on how to make the best fish and chips,” says Nuñez. “The magic is adding beer and vodka. Beer gives you the bubble, but vodka is the reaction that makes things explode in a good way.” For his hongos fritos, Nuñez coats roasted oyster mushrooms in a dredge made with dehydrated masa. It’s dunked in the boozy batter, fried, then plated above chipotle salsa, hominy, pickled onion, and crema.

Crispy Chicken at Olivia (Los Angeles)

The name of chef Mario Alberto’s dish is misleading – the “chicken” are actually tender, woodsy oyster mushrooms. “[Oyster mushrooms] don’t have a lot of water content,” says Alberto. “They fry nicely and you can pull them apart without taking away the integrity and structure.” His masa harina-battered mushrooms were originally served in tacos. (“Corn on corn,” notes Alberto.) But the “Crispy Chicken” are so good that they stand on their own as a side dish, served with a gochujang dipping sauce.