Bottom-Friendly Fried "Chicken" Sandwich

Getting the oil ready:

1. To a dutch oven (or pan/skillet large enough for shallow frying), add enough oil that when the oyster mushrooms eventually make it in, they will be submerged halfway up the sides of the mushroom. This is called shallow frying and it's better than me telling you a random amount of oil to use and you end up wasting a lot.

2. Turn the heat to medium to allow the oil to heat up while you get your assembly line ready.

For the frying batter:

1. To a mixing bowl, add vegan buttermilk ingredients together, mix well, and set aside for about 10 minutes so the non-dairy milk curdles. Once curdled and thick, mix together until smooth.

2. To another mixing bowl, add all your dry ingredients and whisk together.

3. To the buttermilk, dip and cover one mushroom at a time.

4. To the flour dredge, add the mushroom and pack in the flour dredge, making sure to leave no wet spots uncovered!

5. Place the battered mushroom on a wire rack (preferably) or a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Repeat steps 4-6 until all the mushrooms are done.

Frying the mushrooms:

1. Once the mushrooms are all battered, turn the heat up on the oil. Once the oil reaches 350 degrees use a digital thermometer (or dip the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick into the oil. If the oil starts steadily bubbling, then the oil is hot enough for frying) add 2 oyster mushrooms into the oil.

2. Fry for ~5 minutes, flip, and cook for another ~5 minutes or until golden brown. Adjust the temperature of the oil as needed.

3. NOTE: DO NOT OVERCROWD THE PAN. If your pan is only big enough to fit one mushroom at a time, do one mushroom at a time. Overcrowding the pan will lend soggy oyster mushrooms.

4. Once the mushroom is done frying on both sides, remove it from the oil and place it on a wire rack or paper towels to drain and cool.

Saucing the mushrooms:

1. While cooling, use any flavor of Omsom's starter pack to baste your mushroom! I used their Vietnamese Lemongrass BBQ flavor but also experimented with Korean Spicy Bulgogi.  Delicious!

Making homemade pickled carrots (optional):

1. Add sliced carrots to a mason jar.

2. To a saucepan, boil the vinegar, water, and salt until the salt is dissolved.

3. Pour the vinegar mixture over the carrots and let cool for about an hour before placing the lid on the jar.

Assembly:

1. To your toasted buns, add vegan mayo, the fried mushroom, and top with kimchi, pickled carrots, and more vegan mayo. Top with your bun and don't waste another second to devour this beauty.

2. Bottoms up!