Rich, indulgent, vegan clam chowder with chewy mock clams, Old Bay, and hickory smoke salt. Vegans and non-vegans alike will enjoy this amazing gluten-free recipe.
Soak ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds, ⅓ cup almonds, and ⅓ cup cashews overnight, or cover with boiling water and soak for one hour.
Make nut and seed milk
Rinse and drain the seeds and nuts. Place in a high-powered blender with 3 ½ cups water and blend on high for 2 minutes.
Lay an extra large cotton handkerchief or thin cotton tea towel over a medium-sized bowl. Pour the nut milk into the cloth. Gather up the edges of the towel, wring and squeeze to extract all the nut milk into the bowl. Discard all the pulp from the nut milk.
Prepare Vegetables
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 ½ cups potato and boil until fork tender but not falling apart, about 6-8 minutes. Drain cooked potatoes in a colander.
While potatoes cook, heat 1 tsp. cooking oil in a skillet and briefly saute 1 ½ cups king oyster mushrooms over medium-high heat. They will shrink and release some moisture after about 3-4 minutes.
Add 2 TB vegan fish sauce and cook for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated. You can turn up the heat if necessary. Remove from heat and set aside.
If desired, place 2 tablespoons of cooked mushrooms in a small dish to use as a garnish over the top of the chowder when serving.
Finish Chowder
Heat 3 TB plant-based butter in a 6-cup saucepan. Saute ½ cup yellow onion, ⅓ cup celery , and 2-3 small bay leaves in butter until onion starts to brown.
When the onion has started to brown, stir in 3 TB flour. Add 1 teaspoon sea salt⅛ teaspoon hickory smoked salt, ¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, ½ teaspoon garlic powder1/16 teaspoon white pepper. Cook while stirring until the flour begins to brown as well.
Pour 1 cup of prepared nut milk into the saucepan and stir constantly while cooking until the mixture is very thick. Pour in the remaining nut milk and stir. Add the potatoes. Bring soup just to a boil taking care not to burn the bottom.
Once the soup has thickened, add the vegan clams. Heat just a minute or two until all the chowder ingredients are piping hot.
Serve
Ladle into soup bowls and serve with a generous grate of fresh cracked black pepper and a few vegan clams if desired.
Store
Keep leftover chowder covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Freezing
Chowder doesn't freeze well with cooked potatoes. However, you can find instructions in the recipe card notes on how to freeze chowder by cooking and adding potatoes just before serving.
Notes
IngredientsKing oyster mushrooms have a flavor and texture that mimics clams when they are cooked in fish sauce. Other mushrooms won't work the same way. If you don't have hickory salt, a couple of drops of liquid smoke can be used instead. Vegan Fish Sauce is essential for mushrooms that substitute for clams.We like Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour for this recipe, but you can substitute others.EquipmentExtra-large men's cotton handkerchiefs and thin tea towels are great for straining nut milk. They don't leave any grainy bits behind and are machine washable.InstructionsSoak seeds and nuts ahead of time and the recipe can be made in 30 minutes.Soak seeds and nuts ahead of time, and the recipe can be made in 30 minutes.Strain nut milk with extra large men's cotton handkerchiefs or thin tea towels. They don't leave any grainy bits behind and are machine washable.Leave skins on the potatoes for the taste, attractive color, and the way it holds them together.Chop your potatoes into chunks just under one inch and boil your potatoes separately until they are tender. That way, they won't fall apart when they finish cooking with the rest of the soup.Dice king oyster mushrooms into ¼ to ½ inch pieces before sauteing in vegan fish sauce.Add vegan clams to chowder just before serving and hold a couple aside to sprinkle on top of each bowl of soup.ServeServe piping hot and finish each serving with freshly cracked black pepper.StoreKeep leftover chowder covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Freeze
Typically milk and cooked potatoes are two ingredients that don't freeze well at all. However, the thickened homemade dairy-free milk in this recipe freezes just fine and with slight modification, you can freeze the chowder.Here's how: Make the make recipe in advance, and cook according to directions except for the potatoes. Leave them out and freeze the remaining chowder.The day you plan to serve the soup, thaw chowder to room temperature. It will be a little lumpy, but that's ok. Once it's reheated and stirred it will regain its creamy consistency.Boil potatoes according to the recipe until tender but not falling apart. Combine cooked potatoes with thawed chowder and heat everything together until flavors meld and the soup is piping hot, about 5 minutes.