Vegan Maitake Tacos
If you’re in the mood for tacos with amazingly meaty texture but no meat, and a delicious, savory flavor, and you just happen to be a forager with some hen of the woods on hand, these vegan maitake tacos are what you’re after. The maitake mushroom shreds easily, and the earthy, savory flavor is enhanced and added to with a flavorful marinade made from limes, soy sauce, cilantro, garlic and more. These tacos are easy to whip up- after you give them some time alone to marinade, all you need is about a quarter of an hour and a skillet to get this taco Tuesday started.
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Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site, I can’t be responsible for the accuracy of your information. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.
Foraging Hen of the Woods
The star of October in New England mushroom foraging is Grifola frondosa, also called hen of the woods, maitake mushroom, sheep’s head, rams head, and more. As it is currently October, you won’t be surprised that maitake is also the star of this dish! Maitakes are a polypore, meaning that like chicken of the woods, reishi, and pheasant backs they have small pores on their cap’s underside instead of gills. They grow at the base of trees, most commonly oaks, but occasionally other hardwoods like maple or elms. Supposedly they are called hen of the woods because they were thought to look like chickens tucked up at the base of trees. Maitake grow in fairly large clusters, with caps sprouting from a singular stalk in a branching, petal-like formation. They vary in color between greys and browns- basically the color of old, decomposing oak leaves. As you might guess, this means they can be somewhat hard to see, which for a mushroom often larger than a soccer ball is impressive. The undersides should always have white pores, which may yellow somewhat as they age (a good indication that mushroom is a little old for eating). Maitake mushrooms grow from the forest floor, which means they are often filled with pine needles, acorns, twigs, dirt, and bugs and may require a good clean. This particular vegan maitake taco recipe is a good option for when you find a maitake that needs a little more work in the cleaning department, since we’re making shreds and not trying to preserve larger pieces intact.
If you want to find your first maitake, head somewhere with a lot of oak trees. Look for a large, mature one, and walk to the base. Walk in a circle around it, as there have been many times where a tree that looked hen-free was just hiding a large maitake on the other side of it’s trunk. Look closely, as fallen oak leaves are very good camouflage for the maitake. When you do spot a lovely hen, check to make sure that tree isn’t hosting another couple, as they often cluster around the same trunk. And come back next year- the same trees host maitake year after year, until they inevitably die. If you come back to the same space every year, you’ll start to recognize your trees, and to learn the look of trees that might be hosting a hen.
And now for the good news- North America doesn’t have any poisonous look-a-likes for maitakes! If you’re elsewhere on the globe, be sure to do your research about the local fungi. There are a few non-poisonous look-alikes to keep an eye out for. The Black-Staining Polypore is the most convincing in my opinion- brownish, large clusters at hardwood bases. But they have different branching to the hen of the woods, which makes them look just a little bit off. Oh, and they bruise black, so that can help you figure it out. While the black staining polypore can be fairly tough, it is also edible so no fear if you bring it home. Another common misidentification is Berkeley’s Polypore, which also likes to find a good oak to inhabit. It’s large, lighter, and has thick flesh. It tends to have more of a shelf-like cluster than the hen’s branching cluster, but again, is not poisonous (although it may be hard to chew). Another mushroom sometimes sited as a “look-alike” is the Cauliflower Mushroom. And if you’ve made this mistake, congratulations, you’ve got a choice edible on your hands! Cauliflower mushrooms have much thinner flesh than a maitake, and are white to yellowish cream colored. Another option if you’ve found what looks awfully like a maitake, but it’s August, you may have found an umbrella polypore. This mushroom is pretty rare in North America, but like the maitake it grows under oaks, annually on the same tree. It is also a choice edible- my mother’s found an umbrella polypore that she harvests every year, and usually shares with me and I can attest this is a lookalike you want to find.
Looking for Maitake Recipes? Try one of these!
- Pickled Maitake Mushrooms (Canning Recipe)
- Maitake Mushroom Vegan French Dip Sandwich
- Maitake Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe (Vegan!)
- Bloomin’ Maitake (Vegan Hen of the Woods Recipe)
- Maitake and Wild Rice Thanksgiving Salad
- Black Walnut and Maitake Mushroom Pâté
- Seared Maitake Mushroom Steaks with Persimmon Salsa
- Collard Greens and Maitake Steamed Buns
Looking for Vegan Tacos? Try one of these!
- Vegan Baja Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
- Great Vegan BBQ without a Grill + Cauliflower Tacos
- Easy Air Fried Crispy Potato Tacos
- Wild Oyster Mushroom Tacos with Purple Cabbage Slaw
How to Make Maitake Tacos
If you wanted to know why to make maitake tacos, just say those words out loud- maitake tacos. Maitake tacos. Maitake tacos. Just so delightful to say, and I do promise they taste delightful as well.
The first step to making these maitake tacos is to give them a good clean. Because we’re going to be shredding the maitake and really breaking it apart, this is a good recipe for mushrooms that might be a little dirtier or have leaves and pine needles grown into the mushroom itself. Once the maitake is fully cleaned, gently pat dry in a clean kitchen towel and set aside.
The next step is to make a marinade with limes, olive oil, jalapeños, cilantro, garlic, tomato paste, soy sauce, a little cumin, and salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms to the marinade, and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so. The mushrooms will lose moisture and take up the flavor of the marinade while it sits.
Once you’re done marinading, remove the mushroom and lime from the liquid. Discard the limes, but hold onto the mushrooms and the brine. You’re going to cook the mushrooms first in a large skillet with some oil, with the goal of getting them a bit golden and crispy. Once the mushrooms are well cooked, we’re going to add the remaining marinade and cook it down until it becomes a thick sauce to coat the maitake. Once you add the marinade to the hot pan make sure you stir well so that the mushrooms all get coated, and to help the excess moisture evaporate.
To serve your tacos, heat up some tortillas and locate your favorite toppings. I served mine with slices of lime, chopped onions, a little more cilantro, some radishes for crunch, and some hot sauce.
Vegan Maitake Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh maitake mushroom, cleaned and broken into shreds
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus a little more for cooking
- 2 small limes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ jalapeño pepper, minced
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro, plus more for serving
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. powdered cumin
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Tortillas, for serving
- Other toppings, as desired (fresh cilantro, sliced limes, radishes, chopped onions, hot sauce, jalapeños, lettuce, etc.)
Instructions
- Thoroughly clean your mushrooms, and use your hands to break them into shreds. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the olive oil, garlic, jalapeño, soy sauce, cilantro, tomato paste, cumin, and a bit of salt and pepper. Squeeze in the lime juice, and then toss the juiced limes in as well. Add the mushrooms, toss to coat in the marinade, and place in the fridge for about an hour.
- After the hour is up, the maitake will have released some moisture. Remove the limes, and set the rest aside. Heat a large skillet with a little bit of oil (you shouldn’t need much), and use a slotted spoon to remove the mushrooms from the marinade. Add to the hot skillet, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are a little golden and crispy. Pour the marinade into the hot skillet, stirring, until most of the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are coated in the sauce. Remove from the heat.
- Serve the tacos on warmed tortillas, with other toppings as desired.
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