Wild West Wings — a plant-based American recipe by BOSH!
Jump to recipeMore American recipes →More Dinner recipes →

Wild West Wings

These Wild West Wings are one of those recipes we keep coming back to when we want something seriously satisfying and a little bit ridiculous in the best way. Crispy, golden, smoky mushrooms with that buttermilk-style marinade doing all the heavy lifting, it's the kind of food that makes people forget they're eating plants. The cayenne and smoked paprika give it a proper kick, and the texture is honestly unreal. Make these on a Friday night and thank us later.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • 2x large mixing bowls
  • Small pan
  • Saucepan (suitable for deep frying)
  • Slotted spoon
  • Kitchen paper
  • Microplane or fine grater
  • Spoon (for scraping ginger skin)
  • Fork
  • Mushrooms marinated for 10 minutes
  • Oil heated to 180°C

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 200ml unsweetened plant-based milk
  • 100g coconut yoghurt
  • 500g oyster mushrooms
  • 175g plain flour
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp Sriracha
  • 2 garlic cloves large
  • 2cm piece of fresh ginger
  • 1 red chilli
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Method

1

First make the marinade for the mushrooms 

  • Put the milk, coconut yoghurt and salt in a large mixing bowl
  • Slice the lemons and squeeze in the juice reasonably sparingly, catching any pips in your other hand
  • The batter shouldn’t be too thin
  • Whisk until there are no lumps
  • Add the mushrooms and stir to coat
  • Leave for 10 minutes to marinate 
  • To make a dry coating, put the flour, pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder in the second mixing bowl and mix together with a fork
2

If you’re making your own chilli sauce

  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon and grate
  • Put the small pan on a medium heat and pour in the sesame oil
  • Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 3 minutes, until starting to soften
  • Pour into a dish and add the maple syrup, soy sauce and sriracha
  • Stir everything together well
3

Prepare to cook the wings

  • Pour oil into the saucepan to a depth of 8cm and heat to 180°C, or until a wooden spoon dipped into the oil sizzles around the edges
  • Pick the mushrooms out of the marinade and transfer them to the bowl of dry ingredients
  • Toss until really well coated
4

Fry the wings

  • Place the mushrooms in the pan, in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan
  • Cook for 4–5 minutes, turning regularly, until deep golden brown
  • Transfer to the kitchen paper with a slotted spoon for 2 minutes to soak up the excess oil
5

To serve

  • Drizzle over some chilli sauce and serve the rest in a bowl for dipping Finely chop the chives and sprinkle over
  • Rip the stem from the chilli, cut it in half lengthways and remove the seeds if you prefer, then finely chop and scatter over the Wild West Wings

Tips & Variations

  • Get the coating right: Make sure the batter isn't too thin before you coat the mushrooms. Give it a good whisk until there are no lumps and it should coat the back of a spoon nicely.
  • Turn up the heat: If you like things properly spicy, Henry always adds a little extra cayenne to the dry coating. It makes a real difference.
  • Serve straight away: These are at their absolute best fresh out of the pan while they're still crispy. If you let them sit too long they'll go soft, so get them on the table fast.

Why This Works

The trick is that marinade. Letting the mushrooms sit in the milk, coconut yoghurt and lemon mixture for those 10 minutes isn't just for show, it tenderises them and helps the dry coating cling on properly when they hit the heat. That combination of wet batter and seasoned flour is what gets you that proper crispy shell with a juicy middle. Trust us on this one, don't skip the marinating step.