This quick and easy Air Fryer Mushroom Chilli is THE stir fry for all vegetarians and mushroom lovers! It’s sweet and spicy with a hint of sourness that makes for an insanely good pairing with some steamed rice.
Looking for more Air Fryer recipes? Try my Air Fryer Kurkuri Bhindi, Air Fryer Papdi, Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken Breasts or Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries that are super crispy!
If I could only eat one stir-fry for the rest of my life, it would be this air fryer Mushroom Chilli. Chewy mushrooms and crunchy veggies tossed in spicy, tangy goodness – what’s not to love?
I’ve got a soft spot for Indo-Chinese recipes and an even bigger soft spot for mushroom recipes (with bonus points for chewyyy mushrooms) and this Mushroom Chilli marries the two! You can make it into a mushroom chilli gravy or enjoy it dry so this works both as an appetizer and a meal, served with rice.
Instead of deep frying the mushrooms, I've air fried them in this recipe with a light batter that coats them for that extra layer of chewiness. The air fryer makes sure there's next to no oil used for the mushrooms, without compromising on the cooking.
Ingredients You'll Need To Make Mushroom Chilli
Here's everything you need for this recipe:
- For the Batter
- Mushrooms – I recommend using Button Mushrooms, cut in half
- Corn Flour/Corn Starch – for that firm outer coating for the mushrooms
- All Purpose Flour (Maida) – This is to form the flour coatin and will ensure our mushrooms are firm once baked/fried!
- Water – A little bit to bring the dry flours together. We are not looking at a wet batter here but more like craggy bits sticking to the mushrooms
- Salt and Pepper
- For the Sauce
- Dark + Light Soya Sauce – Or sub with Ching’s Secret Soya Sauce. If you’re using just Dark Soya Sauce, add an additional pinch of salt. Soy sauce adds that signature Indo-Chinese stir-fry flavour and lends a rich, deep colour that you don’t want to miss out on!
- Ketchup – This is for a touch of sweetness and acidity, you can use my Homemade Tomato Ketchup here.
- Synthetic White Vinegar – for a little tang that goes a long way!
- Corn Flour/Corn Starch – To thicken the sauce, a good stir-fry sauce coats your spoon well
- Salt and Pepper – To season
- Water – this is for the gravy, you can vary the amount according to how dry/saucy you want these garlic chilli mushrooms to be
- For the Stir Fry
- Vegetable Oil – Any neutral flavored oil like canola, rice bran or sunflower will work here, this is to saute our aromatics and veggies in the signature stir fry high heat
- Green Chillies – for a layer of spiciness
- Capsicum – Capsicum brings a pepper-y punch to the stir-fry without adding a lot of heat. The
- crunch of the chopped capsicums also makes for the perfect bite!
- Aromatics – A gooood stir-fry is a FRAGRANT and this is where our aromatics come in!
- Garlic - needs no introduction! It adds a wonderful sharpness to the stir-fry which contrasts well with the sweetness and acidity of our sauce.
- Ginger – brings in that signature earthiness to Indo-Chinese dishes. Its pungent flavor pairs well with the savoriness of our sauce.
- Onion - for a light pungent flavor that goes a long way in any stir-fry
- Spring Onions – A classic garnish for any Indo-Chinese dish. These have a light sweetness with a hint of pungent flavour makes for a great fresh topping. You can sub this with coriander leaves too – this is INDO-chinese after all so both garnishes work well for a pop of freshness.
Richa’s Top Tricks To Make The Best Air Fryer Mushroom Chilli
- Make sure to prep everything (chopping, measuring sauces etc) before you start cooking. The stir-fry happens quickly on a high flame (check out my Stir-Frying 101 article for more tips) and you will not have time to gather ingredients once you start.
- For best results, use fresh mushrooms as they are the main ingredient in this recipe.
- Using a wok adds a nice smokiness to the dish. If you do not have one, you can use a pan or kadai. Check out my YouTube video for my ultimate kitchen tools recommendations!
- If you want to turn this into gravy, double the ingredients for the sauce and use ¾ teaspoon cornflour mixed with 1 ½ cups water to make this more saucy.
Note: I have outlined two preparation methods for the mushrooms. You could either bake them in the Air Fryer/Oven for a chewy yet firm outer coating (and close to no oil usage) or deep-fry these which will make the mushrooms crispy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yesss you can! Bake at 180C in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes and keep checking on the mushrooms. You can alternatively also deep fry these.
Absolutely! If you aren’t air frying, baking or deep frying these, don’t coat them with the batter. They’ll still taste great!
You can’t go wrong with a piping hot bowl of steamed rice along with this, especially if you’re making this gravy-style. But I also think this would be great served on top of some crispy fried noodles, or with some fried rice if you like your Indo-Chinese meals to pack in alllll the flavour! And we love eating this dry-style on its own 🙂
If you’re hosting, you can accompany this as an appetizer along with my Crispy Babycorn Chilli, Chilli Chicken, and Veg Spring Rolls.
Surprise a mushroom-lover that you know with this recipe and I promise you they’ll be SINGING! You’ll be seeing this in my weekly meal plans over on my Instagram @my_foodstory often 🙂
Add it to yours!
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Air Fryer Mushroom Chilli
Equipment
- Air fryer, optional
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 400 grams button mushrooms cut into half (2 packets)
- 3 tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour maida
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- Oil for deep frying if deep frying
For the Sauce:
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce + 2 teaspoons light soy sauce OR 3 teaspoon ching’s secret soya sauce
- 2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1½ teaspoon synthetic white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cornflour / cornstarch
- ½ cup water + 2-3 tablespoons if required for gravy, use 1 cup water
For the Stir Fry:
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil see note 4 - any neutral flavoured oil like canola, rice bran or sunflower
- 3-4 green chillies slit lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 medium onion cut into 1 inch squares, approx ½ cup
- 1 medium green capsicum cut into 1 inch squares, approx ½ cup
- ¼ cup chopped spring onion greens for garnish (can be substituted with fresh coriander)
Instructions
- Prep - Preheat the air fryer or oil (if deep frying). Also whisk together all the ingredients under sauce and set aside.2 teaspoons dark soy sauce + 2 teaspoons light soy sauce OR 3 teaspoon ching’s secret soya sauce, 2 teaspoons ketchup, 1½ teaspoon synthetic white vinegar, 1 teaspoon pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cornflour / cornstarch, ½ cup water + 2-3 tablespoons if required
- Dry Coat Mushrooms - Rinse and pat dry all mushrooms and cut them into halves. Take cornflour, all purpose flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix. Add halved mushrooms and toss to coat. Add water one tablespoon at a time and toss just to get the coating to stick to mushrooms.400 grams button mushrooms, 3 tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch, 3 tablespoons all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
Air Fryer Method
- For Air Fryer - Preheat air fryer for 3 minutes at 180C. Arrange the mushrooms in the air fryer (My air fryer is 5L and I air fried in two batches) and lightly brush the tops with oil. Cook on 180C for 2 minutes on one side, flip each mushroom & cook the other side for 3 minutes. Repeat the same process for the second batch of mushrooms too.3 tablespoon vegetable oil
Deep Frying Method
- Deep Frying - Heat one and a half inches of oil in a wok or pan and add coated mushrooms to hot oil one by one so they do not stick to each other. Fry them on high heat for 2-3 minutes, turning once till they are pale brown and crisp. Take them out on a plate and set aside. Repeat the same process for the rest of the mushrooms.Oil for deep frying
- Saute Aromatics - Remove excess oil from the wok, leaving behind 2 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, add ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute for a minute and add onions and capsicum. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes on high heat, add fried mushrooms and toss with the aromatics for a minute.1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic, ½ tablespoon finely chopped ginger, 1 medium onion, 1 medium green capsicum, 3-4 green chillies
- Adding Sauces - Add the sauce mixture and toss together on high heat for 2 minutes till corn flour is translucent and the sauce has a thick, glossy finish. Add 2 tablespoons of water if you want a little more sauce. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and serve hot.2-3 tablespoons water, ¼ cup chopped spring onion greens
Notes
- Make sure to prep everything (chopping, measuring sauces etc) before you start cooking. The stir-fry happens quickly on a high flame and you will not have time to gather ingredients once you start.
- For best results, use fresh mushrooms as they are the main ingredient in this recipe
- Using a wok adds an intense flavour to the dish. If you do not have one, you can use a pan or kadai.
- If you want to turn this into gravy, double the ingredients for the sauce and use ¾ teaspoon cornflour mixed with 1 ¼ cup water to make this more saucy.
Nutrition
This article was researched and written by Navya Khetarpal
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