WELL HELLO! Sorry about my short leave of absence, but you see I was getting a brand new kitchen! It was not awesome while it was happening, but now that it’s in, it is UH-MAZING. It’s not a fancy one – but who knew how nice the simple stuff was? It’s just a total flat-pack job, and I don’t think I could love it more if it was hand crafted by pixies. Honestly. This kitchen is my world. HOWEVER. For the three days that we were out a kitchen, we had basically no access at all. So we were eating toast for breakfast, and then some pretty unhealthy and expensive food the rest of the time. Every now and then, there is nothing I love more than a take-away (Portuguese chicken is my world), but three days worth was hurting my hip pocket and my hips. After a time of eating bushels of very fresh vegetables in very little dressing with only steamed fish (kind of) my mind has wandered back to those unhealthy treats. And I came up with this little sucka! It’s vegetarian, and substitutes that funghi friend to all vegetarian cooking, the mushroom, for the meat! Sideline – is anyone else hung up on old school stuffed mushrooms like I am? There used to be a restaurant up the road from my family home – it was like our family restaurant. Very fancy, but run by the nicest people, and I have held every restaurant experience since then up to this old stalwart. It was called Carlisle’s, and I wish it was still there. Anyway, a permanent fixture on their menu were these crispy stuffed mushrooms with rice pilaf. It was the most delicious and chic thing ever. Using the inspiration of those beloved mushrooms, I decided to knock together this taco recipe for me and my man one lunchtime. The mushies are not stuffed, but are crumbed with crispy breadcrumbs and polenta (a la Carlisle’s)(I miss you Carlisle’s, please come back). Underneath the crispy mushrooms, is my cheat’s take on a kinda Vietnamese coleslaw. And the whole thing is drizzled with mayo and asian hot sauce. My hack’s vietnamese coleslaw is just assorted crunchy vegetables and cabbage tossed with nuoc cham – that punchy Vietnamese dipping sauce. The nuoc cham is a mix of lime juice, rice vinegar, red chilli, garlic, sugar and salt, and I love it like a son. LIKE A SON. What the very sharp dressing does is lightly pickle all of the coleslaw ingredients, meaning you get hot, sharp, salty pickled slaw punctuating every bite of your taco. The mushrooms are crispy and salty on the outside, while remaining earthy and tender within. Wrap it in a tortilla, add your desired condiments and it’s actual takeaway heaven. I wish I had access to this kind of fast food at my doorstep. Someone please open a crazy asian fusion taco truck in my neighbourhood. Please?

Crispy Mushroom Tacos with Vietnamese Coleslaw

INGREDIENTS

For the Crispy Mushrooms:

2 large field mushrooms

1 egg

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup polenta

1 cup breadcrumbs To Serve:

Mini tortillas

Vietnamese Coleslaw (recipe below)

Sriracha (asian hot sauce)

Mayo Slice the mushrooms into pieces just under a centimetre thick. Now set up your crumbing station: in a small bowl, whisk together the egg and mustard with some salt and pepper. Place the flour with some salt and pepper into another small bowl and add the mushrooms. Place the breadcrumbs and polenta into a third small bowl. Toss the flour and mushrooms together, and then take one piece at a time and dip it first into the egg and then into the crumbs, until all the pieces are done. Heat about 1 cm of oil (olive or veg oil) in a small frying pan, to a medium heat, and fry each piece of mushroom until golden brown, turning about halfway through. Serve in a tortilla with a pile of vietnamese coleslaw, and a drizzle of mayo and hot sauce.

Vietnamese Coleslaw

INGREDIENTS

1 clove garlic

1/2 red chilli

3 tbsp rice vinegar

Juice 1 lime

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Assorted crunchy veggies and herbs (I used 1/4 of a small red cabbage, 1 carrot, 1 cucumber, 3 spring onions, a sprig each of basil and mint) Finely mince the chilli and garlic (or pound in a mortar and pestle) and place in a large serving bowl. Add the vinegar, lime juice, salt and sugar and stir to dissolve. Taste the mix – you are looking for a balance of salty, sweet, sour and hot. It may need more sugar, but use your own tastebuds to decide! Finely slice your chosen veggies and herbs and throw them into the bowl with the dressing, toss very thoroughly and your done! It is excellent just as it is, but even better after about 15-20 minutes. Yum!