Vegan Chicken Recipes

VEGAN FRIED "CHICKEN"

Steps:

• In the cup of a high speed blender, combine the chickpeas (including their soaking water), the water, bouillon powder, white wine vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder and silken tofu. Blend until very smooth.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, combine the vital wheat gluten and the blended liquid. Knead on medium speed with the dough hook for no less that 5 minutes. The seitan dough should be smooth and stretchy.
• Cover the mixing bowl and leave to rest for ten minutes.
• Once rested, remove the dough from the mixer and slice into three even sized pieces. Return two of the pieces to the covered bowl. Take the one piece of dough and slice it into six separate pieces (don't worry if they're all different sizes - just roughly the same is fine).
• Lay out a piece of baking parchment and take one of the small pieces of dough. Place the dough on the left hand side of the baking parchment, then fold over to cover the dough. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough as thinly as you can. Unfold the parchment and peel off the thin piece of seitan. Stretch it out with your fingers and place it flat on a plate. Brush it very lightly with vegetable oil.
• Repeat the process with the next piece of dough - roll it out very thinly then remove from the parchment. Stretch it out with your fingertips and place it in top of the first piece, pushing down lightly with the flat of your hand to remove any air bubbles between the two pieces of seitan. Brush the top piece lightly with oil then repeat the process with the remaining small pieces of dough.
• Once all six small pieces of dough are layered, stretch the top piece of dough down and over the other layers to envelop them and tuck under the bottom layer. Place the layered piece of seitan on a new large piece of baking parchment and fold it up tightly. Wrap tightly with tin foil and set aside.
• Repeat the process with the other two large pieces of dough.
• Bring a steamer to the boil and place all three pieces of seitan in the steamer. Steam for a total of 90 minutes, flipping and moving the pieces around half way.
• Once the seitan is steamed, carefully remove it from the steamer and allow it to cool to room temperature (20 minutes) before placing in the fridge for at least an hour. Do not unwrap.
• Once cooled fully, unwrap the seitan and tear apart into whatever size shreds you'd like. (If you're planning to make fried chicken, I'd suggest keeping the shreds quite large. If you're using in a curry, I'd go a bit smaller).
• Keep sealed in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 2 months.
• Take the pieces of shredded chicken out of the fridge.
• In one medium bowl, combine the gram flour, plant milk, cider vinegar and sriracha. Whisk well to combine. This is your egg mixture.
• In another medium bowl, combine all the spiced flour mixture ingredients. Mix to combine.
• Place a medium, high sided frying pan over a medium heat or turn on a deep fat fryer. Bring the oil to 170c.
• Assigning your left hand to the egg mix and your right hand to the spiced flour, dunk a piece of chicken in the flour and toss to coat. Then, with your right hand, place the floured chicken in the egg mixture. Use your left hand to coat the chicken and then pick it up and place back in the flour. Very carefully coat for a second time in the flour mixture then place carefully in the hot oil.
• Fry the chicken piece for around 2-4 minutes or until completely golden brown. Using a spider or a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the fryer and place on a few pieces of kitchen towel to drain. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken.
• Serve while hot!

VEGAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place the tofu, cannellini beans (and their water), 3 tbsp of the vegetable oil, sea salt, miso paste and rice vinegar into the largest cup or jug attachment of a high speed blender. Blend on high speed for a minimum of 1 minute. Remove the cup, shake it well or use a spatula to make sure no chunks are stuck to the side then blend again for another 30 seconds until very smooth and creamy.
• Add the vital wheat gluten and the garlic powder to the mixture and blend until the mixture is smooth and very stretchy. Add the remaining 3 tbsp vegetable oil and blend again for at least 30 seconds. At this stage, the seitan dough should be very stringy - almost like the texture of tough chewing gum (don't worry - this is correct - it won't be like this once cooked!).
• Divide the seitan chicken dough into 8 pieces, roughly 150g each. Working with one at a time, pinch the edges of the piece of seitan and tuck it over and into the centre, making one smooth side and one folded, tucked side. Roughly shape the dough into a fillet. Repeat with the remaining pieces.
• Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper on a clean surface and place the fillet on top. Fold the sides of the greaseproof paper over and wrap tightly. Alternatively you can use muslin/cheesecloth to wrap the seitan and bind it tightly with string.
• IMPORTANT: it's essential that each fillet is wrapped as tightly as possible otherwise the seitan will expand and become spongy rather than firm and meaty.
• Place the tightly wrapped seitan chicken "breasts" into a steamer. A bamboo or an electric steamer will work fine. Steam for at least 1 hour. After an hour, give the fillets a little prod. They should be firm and bouncy rather than soft and doughy.
• Once steamed, remove the seitan chicken from the steamer and without unwrapping, leave to cool for at least 20 minutes. While the chicken cools, prepare the marinade.
• Put the crushed garlic, miso paste, dry white wine and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk together until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
• Once your vegan chicken is cooled, unwrap it and use your hands to pull apart each piece into two (don't slice with a knife as the torn, meaty texture helps the chicken to soak up flavour).
• Place the vegan chicken into a large tupperware container with a lid or a large deep baking tin. Pour over the miso/wine mixture and use your hands to rub the marinade into the vegan chicken.
• Add the just boiled water to a large measuring jug and add the remaining brine ingredients. Pour over the chicken pieces while the brine is still hot and use a fork to make sure all the chicken is covered in liquid. Cover with reusable wrap or a lid and allow the brine to cool to room temperature on the counter. Once cooled, place in the fridge and leave to marinate for a minimum of 8 hours, ideally 12 if you can.
• Once the chicken has marinated for a minimum of 8 hours, it is ready to use.
• For shredded chicken, use a fork to pull apart the marinated vegan chicken into fine shreds. For chunks either pull the vegan chicken apart by hand for a rough texture or slice into pieces with a knife.

VEGAN SEITAN TENDERS

Steps:

• Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine until everything is well mixed and the dough forms a ball. Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor you can mix everything together in a large bowl working the dough until it forms a ball.
• Lightly dust a clean work surfaces with a bit of the vital wheat gluten. Turn the dough ball onto the surface and lightly dust the top with a little more vital wheat gluten. The dough will be soft and very sticky so this will help it from sticking to your hands. Do not knead the dough, kneading it will make it tough. Cut the dough ball into 6 pieces and use the tips of your fingers to press each piece of dough into an oval shape about 5" x 6".
• Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a simmer. Lightly grease the steamer basket and lay the tenders in the basket. If the tenders need to overlap each other, spray the tenders with a bit of oil to stop them from sticking together. Cover and steam at a simmer for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through so they steam evenly. They will double in size. Make sure to keep it at a gentle simmer for the best texture.
• Once steamed, remove the tenders and let cool. Cover or put in an airtight container and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, or for up to 3 - 4 days. You can either chill the tenders without any additional seasoning, or you could toss the tenders in your favourite marinade. The tenders shrink and firm up a bit when chilled and this results in the best texture.
• Once chilled, the tenders are fully cooked and edible, but you can now treat them as you would raw chicken -season and cook them as you desire. The cooking time can be short as they only need to be heated through but prepare them any way that you might prepare a chicken breast. Pan fry or grill them, bread or crust them, slice them for salad, pasta, or stirfry, cut them into nuggets, add them to burritos, tacos, or sandwiches. The options are endless!

THE BEST VEGAN SEITAN CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk the 2 cups vital wheat gluten with the 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, ½ tsp salt, and 1 tbsp chicken seasoning until they're completely combined.
• In a small bowl, whisk the 1 cup tofu, ½ cup water, 1 tbsp no chicken bouillon paste, and 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce until the tofu breaks down into small pieces.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and when it forms a ball.
• On a clean flat surface dusted with vital wheat gluten, knead the dough for 1 minute then roll or press into a ½ inch thick circle. The dough will keep shrinking, just continue to press it back. If the dough tears, press it back together.
• Using a sharp paring knife, cut out the chicken cutlets. You can decide on how small or large you want them to be.
• Place a steaming basket in a large pot and fill with water until the water is just below the basket. You don't want water to touch the cutlets. Bring the water to a boil.
• Spray a light coating of oil on the basket to prevent the cutlets from sticking and place the cutlets on the basket. If you need to layer the cutlets, spray a light coating of oil on the bottom layer so they don't stick together.
• Reduce the water to a simmer, cover the pot, and steam for 30 minutes.
• Remove the cutlets from the pot and refrigerate for at least an hour. This will let the seitan develop a better texture.
• TO GRILL THE VEGAN CHIK'N BREASTS
• Brush or spray a light coating of vegetable oil on both sides and grill for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until they're heated through.
• Layer on our homemade BBQ sauce for added flavor.
• Enjoy!

VEGAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place the soy curls in a pot or large bowl and add boiling water or vegetable broth. Let them soak for 10 minutes. They will double or even triple in size.
• Drain them and cool them down with cold running water.
• Squeeze out any extra water with your hands.
• In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, the plant-based milk, the water, the garlic power, the paprika powder, the salt, and the black pepper.
• Stir until well combined. Fill a bowl with panko bread crumbs. Dip the soy curls into the flour batter. Then roll them in the panko bread crumbs.
• Place them in your air fryer and set it to 350 °F.
• Cook them for 10-12 minutes.
• Pour the Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce in a bowl and evenly coat the soy curls from all sides by carefully stirring them a few times.
• Place them back into the air fryer and cook them for 5 more minutes at 350 °F.
• In the meantime, prepare the vegan ranch dip. Finely chop fresh parsley and dill. Place the vegan mayonnaise in a small bowl and add the parsley and dill. Stir until well combined.

THE QUICKEST & EASIEST SEITAN RECIPE!! (VEGAN CHICKEN!)

Steps:

• Add about an inch of water to a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a light boil.
• In the meantime, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, flour, vegetable broth powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the water and mix to form a ball of dough. Lightly grease the steamer basket, then tear off bite-sized pieces of the seitan dough and place them in a single layer in the steamer basket. Cover, and steam the seitan for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, in a small bowl or a measuring glass, mix together the Thai sweet chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside. (See notes for other sauce options).
• When the seitan is done steaming, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan. Use tongs to remove the seitan bites from the steamer basket, and place them into the hot oil in the pan. Be careful as it may splatter. Cook the seitan bites a few minutes per side until they are golden brown and crispy. Remove from the heat and add the sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired and serve hot.

VEGAN CHICKEN & WAFFLES

Steps:

• - I used this vegan waffle recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau! In a small bowl, mix the ground flaxseed and water and allow it to sit for a few minutes to thicken. Add the melted butter and soymilk and whisk together until well incorporated. Then, in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until combined. Little clumps are okay, they'll dissolve.
• - lightly butter or oil your waffle iron (to prevent sticking) and spoon a generous dollop of waffle batter in the center, pushing the batter outward with the back of your spoon to create the waffle shape your desire. Close waffle iron and cook according to your waffle iron's specifications, until the waffle is golden brown and releases easily from the iron. Stack waffles on a plate as you make them and keep them in the oven if you'd like them to stay warm.
• While your waffles are cooking, cook your plant-based nuggets according to package instructions. I prefer to air fry my nuggets, but you're welcome to bake them or even deep fry them for an extra epic effect.
• - On a plate, stack two waffles and top with a generous heap of vegan chicken nuggets. Serve with maple syrup. If desired, add a wedge or scoop of vegan butter and garnish with some fresh fruit (strawberries pair beautifully with this dish).