ramyaramesh3007This delicious vegan lok lok is made with fresh, plant-based skewers coated in a spice mix & paired with flavourful dipping sauces for the perfect street food snack for sharing!
Lok-Lok, means ‘to dip‘ in Hokkien, is a classic street steamboat with a wide range of skewers – most commonly different types of meat and veggies. It’s a popular street food in Malaysia in cities like Johor Bahru, Malacca, Kuching and Penang.
While these skewered snacks are traditionally deep fried, you can bake or airfry them at home. I find that they are the least messy methods of preparing Lok-Lok, even more so than pan frying (though this is a faster process!)
Best Ingredients for Vegan Lok-Lok
- mushrooms – I love using oyster, king oyster, shitake, shimeji, enoki mushrooms
- fresh vegetables – broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, long green beans
- protein – tofu, tempeh, plant based meat like vegan spam, chicken, mutton etc.
- dumplings, tteokbokki and rice cakes – use frozen and thawed ones for faster cooking process
- spice mix – sichuan pepper, five spice, chili powder, cumin and olive oil
- dipping sauces
- spicy chili sauce – red chilies, green chilies, shallot, garlic, coconut sugar or gula melaka syrup, salt and rice wine vinegar
- creamy peanut sauce – smooth unsweetened peanut butter, light soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, agave or coconut sugar
- thai sweet chili sauce – I like to use a simple bottled one
Gluten free substitutions: Use gluten free soy sauce. Use wheat-free meat substitutes, if using.
Allium free substitutions: Substitute shallot and garlic for a pinch of asafoetida (hing) in the spicy chili sauce. Use allium free thai sweet chili sauce.
Vegan Lok Lok
Ingredients
- 4 sticks oyster mushrooms 3 pieces / stick
- 4 sticks king oyster mushrooms 3 pieces / stick
- 4 sticks shitake mushrooms 3 pieces / stick
- 4 sticks extra firm tofu 3 pieces / stick
- 4 sticks broccoli 3 pieces / stick
- 4 sticks long green beans 6 pieces / stick
- 4 sticks eggplant wedges 3 pieces / stick
- 4 sticks plant based luncheon meat 3 pieces / stick
Spice Mix
- 2 tsp sichuan pepper
- 1 tbsp five spice
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Spicy Chili Dipping Sauce
- 1 large red chili
- 1 large green chili
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Creamy Peanut Sauce
- 2 tbsp smooth unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp agave or coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup water
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
- 2-3 tbsp thai sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C. Soak bamboo skewers in water for 5 minutes – this is to prevent burning of the sticks when cooking. Slice vegetables into bite sized pieces.
- Combine the spices for the spice mix.
- Thread tofu, vegetables, and mock meat onto bamboo skewers. Alternatively you can omit the usage of skewers and bake them all in one pan.
- Brush the spiced oil on the skewers and bake them for about 20 minutes at 200C.
- While that's baking, prepare your sauces: for the spicy chili sauce, blend chilies, shallot, garlic and coconut sugar until smooth.
- Fry the paste off in olive oil and cook until oil separates – add salt, rice wine vinegar and mix well.
- Mix ingredients for peanut sauce in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
- Arrange skewers on a plate with sauces on the side. Dip, eat, and enjoy your own homemade lok-lok!