Vegan Fried Chicken Experiment
Written recipes from the recent episode of my cooking show where I test out 4 different plant based ingredients to see which makes the best alternative to Kentucky fried chicken. The winner was Oyster mushrooms & the recipe for that can be found here. Below are the recipes for the other 3 ingredients I experimented with, seitan, jackfruit & tofu.
Ingredients
Seitan Chicken
Ingredients
Wet;
1 cup/240ml Soy Milk (if soy allergy, use oat)
20g (1 cup) dried mushrooms
olive oil, for frying
1 tbs Dried Onion
1 tbs Ground Garlic
1 tbs Ground White Pepper
120ml/1/2 cup Vegetable Stock
160g firm tofu, patted dry (if soy allergy, increase chickpeas)
3 tbsp White Miso Paste
1 tbs Tahini
1 tbs Celery Salt
2 tsp Dried Sage
2 tsp Dried thyme
Juice 1 lemon
2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Cracked White Pepper
dry ingredients :
300g (2 & 3/4 cups) vital wheat gluten
Broth
6 cups/960ml Hot Vegetable Stock
2 Sprig Fresh Rosemary
2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Onion, quartered
Jackfruit
2 tins Jackfruit, drained & water squeezed out
Tofu
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
Coating
Buttermilk
2 cups/500ml Soy Milk
4 tbs White Wine Vinegar or Juice of 1 Lemon Juice
Dry Spice Mix
1/2 cup/60g Plain/All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup/60g Cornflour
2 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
2 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
3 tsp Garlic Granules
1 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Dried Thyme
2 tsp Celery Salt
2 tsp Onion Granules
2 tbs Caster Sugar
1 litre Vegetable Oil, for frying
Method
Watch Tutorial VideoFor the seitan chicken..
Add all the wet ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to a bread/stand mixer (with the dough hook attached) & mix well. Then add the blended wet mixture.
Set the machine to medium speed and let the dough knead away for 8-10 minutes.
You can do this all by hand but If you don’t knead for long enough or firmly enough you will be left with horrible spongey seitan. I have gone as far as pounding the seitan dough with my fist!
Once kneaded the dough will be quite firm. Cut the dough into even sized chicken ‘bites’.
Add the broth ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn the heat down so that the broth is just lightly simmering.
Add the seitan pieces to the broth & pop the lid on. Allow the seitan pieces to cook for 75 minutes in the simmering broth. Do not let it rapidly boil. I flip the seitan pieces over half way through cooking.
After the 75 minutes remove the chick’n pieces from the broth. They should have almost doubled in size and feel quite meaty.
Once the chick’n pieces are cool, tear or cut them into pieces ready to be coated in the Kentucky coating. I like to tear the chick’n pieces as this creates more rough edges for the coating to cling on to.
Once cooked the chick’n can be wrapped then stored in the freezer for up to 3 months or in the fridge for a week.
For the tofu, simply tear it bitesize chunks & pat dry.
For the jackfruit, remove it from the can & press a clean kitchen towel onto it to soak up any residual water.
Coating –
First up whisk together the soy milk with the vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl to make the ‘buttermilk’. Set it aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile in another bowl combine all the coating ingredients.
Individually dip the seitan/jackfruit/tofu first into the flour mix, then the buttermilk then back into the flour mix. Make sure they’re well coated & double dip them for a thicker coating.
Once you’ve coated all the seitan/jackfruit/tofu. Add the oil to a large saucepan. Only fill the saucepan half way high, as the oil will rise when you place the seitan/jackfruit/tofu into the pan.
Place the oil over a medium heat & check if it’s hot enough by placing a crumb of the batter into the oil, if it bubbles – you’re ready to fry.
Cook the seitan/jackfruit/tofu in the oil in small batches for 5-6 minutes on both sides.
Make sure they’re really crisp & golden before removing from the oil & place them straight onto a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Season with a little salt to keep them crisp.
